


Whatever Happened in Ukraine?

by thegrumpywizard



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Eventual Smut, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Non AU, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2019-04-28 02:53:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 40,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14439921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegrumpywizard/pseuds/thegrumpywizard
Summary: Ten and Taeyong have to spend a few extra days in Ukraine to shoot the “Baby Don’t Stop” music video. Little did they know how close they would actually become over the span of their trip.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ever since I saw the Ukraine taeten videos I wanted to make a fic about it. Shoutout to my wonderful friend (tumblr: gaybangtantexts) for helping me out on this journey! They write some really great texts and scenarios for a lot of groups to satisfy your gay heart so check them out. Hope this satisfies your non au taeten cravings lol.

      “I can’t believe we are going to Ukraine!” Jungwoo says as all the NCT U members, minus Ten, stand in line to board the plane. Jungwoo continues to babble in excitement as it was going to be his first plane ride ever. He was the only one anywhere near awake in the group. It was in the middle of the night and the rest of the members had either woken up very grumpy, or pulled an all-nighter in order to make the flight.

     “Can you lower your voice maybe an octave?” Doyoung requests, eyes still closed.

     “Sorry, hyung,” Jungwoo apologizes in his quiet voice and looks down. Lucas pats Jungwoo’s shoulder after seeing his good friend upset by everyone’s crankiness.

     “Does everyone have everything?” Taeyong asks the group seriously.

     “Yes, Taeyong hyung,” everyone replies in unison. He had been asking the same question every ten minutes and the members were getting tired of his nagging.

     The flight attendant finally announces that it was time for them to board the plane and all the tired people in line arrange their things. Jungwoo is still bouncing nervously in anticipation for the journey ahead. Too many minutes later everyone is seated and the plane is about to take off. The rest of the members start to get a little more excited after finally being on the plane. Lucas pulls out his camera and starts filming them all for some footage that will be posted later.

     “Where are we going?” Lucas asks as he pans over Winwin, Doyoung, Jaehyun, and Mark who were all waving at the lens.

     “Ukraine!” Mark responds to Lucas’ interview style questions with Jaehyun agreeing next to him. “Xuxi you need to be in the shot too.” Mark says and pushes the camera toward Lucas. Lucas introduces himself and passes the camera to Winwin and Doyoung to do the same. Winwin then takes the camera to interview Lucas.

     “Our newest member, are you confident?” Winwin asks to Lucas.

     “Yes,” Lucas responds through his mask. Winwin turns his attention to Doyoung who has pulled out a book.

     “What book is this?” Winwin asks and shifts the camera to Doyoung’s book for closer inspection. “Doyoung hyung is reading a comic book.” He says, answering his own question. Winwin continues asking Doyoung about his inflight entertainment before Lucas takes the camera and points it toward the airplane window.

     “We’re taking off now.” Lucas states before the lights shut off. “Oh look, Jaehyung hyung is sleeping.” He whispers and sneakily points the camera to the seats behind him where Jaehyun has rested his head on Mark’s shoulder sound asleep. Taeyong and Jungwoo had to sit in another section with the managers and were quietly listening to music. Jungwoo had his eyes glued to the window as they took off.

     The plane ride was long and boring, they were about three hours in when Taeyong woke up from a nap. His legs were stiff from sitting down for too long, so he decided to get up and walk around for a few minutes. Maybe it would be fun to see what the other members are up to, he thought. He unbuckled his seatbelt and walked down the narrow aisle to the rows with the rest of the members. Jaehyun and Mark were knocked out, but Doyoung was reading his book and Lucas and Winwin were chatting. They look up when they see Taeyong walking toward them.

     “What’s up Taeyong hyung?” Lucas asks him with a bright smile on his face. “How is Jungwoo hyung doing? Holding up alright?” He adds on curiously. The two newest members had become close friends and Lucas always felt the need to check up on the older.

     “I’m doing alright. Just got up from a nap and had to walk around to get my blood circulating again.” Taeyong responds while leaning on the headrest and glancing out the window. “Jungwoo couldn’t take his eyes off the window for the first hour. It’s amusing to see how fascinated he is with everything.” He continues with a slight smile on his face.

     “Aw, that sounds so cute!” Lucas says with bright eyes.

     “How have you guys been?” Taeyong asks the members who are awake.

     “Pretty boring,” says Winwin. “Jaehyun hyung and Mark have been asleep the entire ride. I don’t know how they do it, but I’m sure they’ll regret it when we have to rest before our shoot tomorrow.” Winwin says with a smirk. Taeyong chuckles at that before being asked to return to his seat by the flight attendant.

     “I’ll see you when we land.” He says quickly before going back to Jungwoo and the managers. Taeyong was looking forward to exploring over the next few days. He rarely got the opportunity to travel to a place like Ukraine and even less so have time to actually be a tourist. He knew that they would be busy with filming everything, but the managers had told him that they would get a couple days off in between shoots. There was a lot of time left to kill on the plane, so he gets out a notebook and starts working on some songs he was in the middle of. After lots of cycling between working, sleeping, eating, and goofing off the pilot finally announced the decent into Ukraine.

     Once they land, Taeyong checks his phone and notices that he has a message from Ten that was sent while they were in the air.

           _Hope you got to Ukraine okay! Everything has been really quiet since you left._

_I can’t wait to meet you guys over there in a few days!_

     Taeyong smiled at the message while he was waiting to get off the plane.

     “What is it?” Jungwoo asks Taeyong standing up next to him.

     “Oh, its just Ten. He sent a message asking how the flight went.” Taeyong responds before stowing his phone in his pocket and making his way to the exit. The skyway was quite cold and Taeyong had wished he had put on his jacket before exiting the plane, but luckily the airport itself was nice and warm. The group went to get their suitcases from the baggage claim and walked outside to the cars waiting to take them to their hotel.

     “We’re here guys! It’s really happening!” Lucas says in his unusually loud voice. They all pile into the car together and stare out the window at the scene laid before them as they drive away. It was still dark outside and very early in the morning. Ukraine was six hours behind Korea and this day was already feeling long. The plan was to check into the hotel and sleep till lunch before heading out for a photoshoot and food.

     The hotel was nice. There was an element of classic charm mixed with modern amenities. All the members walked around the lobby in awe while the managers checked them in.

     “This is so cool hyung!” Jaehyun says, nudging Taeyong out of his daze.

     “Yeah it is. I’ve never been someplace this interesting.” Taeyong responds to Jaehyun before quieting down when he sees the managers walk towards them.

     “Okay so here are the room arrangements. Lucas with Jungwoo, Doyoung with Winwin, Jaehyun with Mark, and Taeyong you have a room to yourself. When Ten comes later he’ll stay with you.” The manager says as he passes out the keys. “Please get lots of rest as we have work to do this afternoon and we can’t have you looking tired.” He adds, giving all the members the eye. Everyone nods before heading up the stairs to the floor where they had their block of rooms.

      Taeyong was very glad that he had a room to himself. The other members were always so messy in hotel rooms and it drove him nuts. He didn’t understand what was so hard about making the bed and keeping water from pooling on the bathroom floor. He quickly put his stuff down and headed to the shower. It was impossible for him to fall asleep without first getting cleaned. The water was hot and the pressure nice. Taeyong had difficulty leaving the warm cocoon created by the steam but his tiredness forced him to turn off the water and get dressed before climbing into bed. He sighed into the mattress and closed his eyes for a minute. At that moment he realized that he should probably charge his phone and grumpily pulled his charger out from his bag and plugged the phone in.

      Once he was settled back in between the covers he remembered that he had never responded to Ten. He decides to quickly type out a response before sleeping.

          _We all arrived in one piece._

_I’m in the hotel now getting a rest before we have to do a photo shoot this afternoon._

_Looking forward to seeing you too!_

     Ten was in the practice room working on the choreography for “Baby Don’t Stop” when he heard his phone buzz on its resting place on top of the stereo. He walked over to check who had sent him a text. He saw Taeyong’s name and smiled. The message was short and to the point, often how Taeyong’s messages were.

     “I’m glad that everything is going well. Keep me updated on what’s happening over there. Good luck on the photoshoot this afternoon. I’m sure you will do great.” Ten put his phone down after replying and continued dancing.

     Taeyong felt his phone buzz in his hand just as he was about to drift to sleep. He should have put his phone on silent, but the damage was already done, and he decided to check the notification. It was probably Ten responding to his message anyways. Looking at the screen he confirms his thought and reads what Ten sent before putting his phone on Do Not Disturb and falling back to sleep.

     A few hours later he was disrupted from his sleep by the alarm going off. He groaned and sat up to check the time. It was time for him to get up and head to the stylists’ room to get into his outfit for the photoshoot before heading to location. Taeyong silently got up and heard his stomach rumble.

     “I hope there is food over there too.” He says to himself before grabbing his key and walking out of his room. As he exited his own room, Doyoung was leaving as well. “How did you sleep?” Taeyong asks Doyoung while they walk together.

     “Not too well. It’s hard to fall asleep after waking up to see Winwin’s glazed over eyes staring at you.” Doyoung says in a half joking, half irritated kind of way. Winwin had a habit of sleeping with his eyes open and it was unsettling to say the least.

     “We should make him start wearing a mask one of these days.” Taeyong laughs out.

     “I don’t understand why this hotel doesn’t have two beds in the room either. Is it really that hard to just put two in there?” Doyoung continues complaining.

     “I think it’s because the hotel is older. A lot of older hotels don’t have space to put in a second bed.” Taeyong explains to the sour member next to him before knocking on the room where the stylists were. The next hour is spent getting the members ready and devouring what snacks they could find. It was the start of a very long few days of photo shoots and filming that made all the members fall straight to sleep each night despite the time difference.

*

     Ten boarded the plane with his manager following closely behind him. He was about to embark on a nine-hour journey to Ukraine to film their music video for “Baby Don’t Stop.” The rest of the NCT U members were already there to film the “Boss” music video, but he wasn’t in that, so the company decided to fly him in later. It had been a quiet few days in the dorm with so many of the members abroad.

     Ten had felt strange without the constant presence of his friends. While he was quiet a lot of the time, he still liked being around people and not being involved in “Boss” made him feel kind of left out. But at least he got to work with Taeyong on the duet Ten mused as he got settled in his seat and put his headphones on. Their styles matched well together, and it was fun to experiment with choreography and concepts. While he and Taeyong were already good friends, it had also allowed him to get closer to the other member. He hoped that wouldn’t change once they were done promoting “Baby Don’t Stop.”


	2. Chapter 2

     The air nipped at the uncovered skin of the members as they finished up the last scene of the “Boss” shoot. The energy among the group was excited but sad because everyone was looking forward to the completed music video but did not want to leave Ukraine. Ten watched from the sidelines, having arrived that day, as he was not in “Boss”, enjoying seeing everyone else freezing in the costumes while he stays nice and cozy in his coat and blanket.

     The director yells cut and Mark runs up to Ten, motioning for cuddles to warm him up.         

     “How did it look, hyung?” Mark asks, trying to make himself as small as possible in order to fit into Ten’s arms.

     “Amazing! I think it’ll be the coolest music video yet! I can’t believe how much you’ve grown up Mark-ah,” Ten replies while rapidly moving his arms up and down Mark’s back. Lucas runs over and joins the huddle while Taeyong and the older members sit with the cameraman to go over some of the footage. Taeyong spots Ten looking his way and waves in response.

     “Ten hyung are you excited to shoot soon?” Lucas muffles into the neck of his sweater.

     “I am, but if I’m to be honest I’m a little nervous. Coming all the way to Ukraine puts a lot of pressure on us to get it right on the first try, especially because it is just Taeyong hyung and I.” Ten says to the younger. It was all he could think about on the plane ride and now that he was on set, the pressure made him grow knots in his stomach. But he was glad that out of all the members he had a duet with it was Taeyong. The older was always a reassuring and calming presence, unlike some of the other more lively members.

     As these thoughts ran through his head, the other members had all collected around their huddle, greeting Ten and asking for his opinion. Ten sent positive messages all around; glad he could support them all. The topic soon changed to how they would be spending their last evening in Ukraine, more specifically what they would be eating. The crew was busy cleaning up their equipment as all the members piled into cars to go back to the hotel. They had all wanted to go out and have a proper celebration, but their flight was early in the morning and the staff was against it considering they had all had multiple outings the nights before.

     The car was nice and warm, everyone snuggled between each other like packed sardines. It was moments like these that Taeyong felt proud. With the members around him, feeling lively but exhausted from a successful day at work. Taeyong was always more of an observer when it came to his role in the group. He enjoyed picking up the small habits of each of the younger ones and letting them follow their own direction rather than his guidance.

     Earlier he had noticed how Mark and Lucas cuddled into Ten. It was nice seeing the two youngest actually acting young. It was also nice to have Ten back. He always complimented Taeyong’s personality well and was looking forward to the next few days. Yes, he would miss the other members, but managing seventeen other teenage boys was not always his cup of tea. Taeyong spent the rest of the car ride with his head leaning on the window, looking out at the white expanse that was the streets of Ukraine.

     A little while later the car stops, and everyone climbs out and scurries to the hotel entrance. Ten noted that the hotel was really beautiful as he walked into the lobby for the first time. While it was not what one would call grand, its nooks and crannies draw the eye in a similar fashion to an extravagant building. The managers tell the members to go freshen up while they order food. The stairs creak under the weight of the eight of them climbing up to their rooms. Mark and Lucas finally detach from Ten as they head off in another direction. Ten falls into step with Taeyong.

     “The managers put me in with you since you had yet to be paired with anyone and we’re the only one’s staying the extra days.” Ten explains to Taeyong, eyes glancing at the floor.

     “Oh yeah, the managers told me when we got here. I think it was just to keep the other members from complaining about having to share. Our room is at the end of the hall.” Taeyong says happily. He already knew about the rooming situation, but he was excited all the same to get to be with Ten.

     Taeyong unlocks the door and Ten follows in silence. As expected, the room was immaculate except for Ten’s stuff piled near the entrance. Ten knew the story when it came to living with Taeyong. Every surface needed to remain clean and every item in its place.

     “I’ve been sleeping on the left side for the most part, so you can take the right.” Taeyong motions to be bed. Ten turns to look where Taeyong’s hand was pointing and realized that there was only one bed. He wasn’t really fazed by it however because the fluffy duvet looked so inviting to Ten who had not had a chance to rest yet from the plane ride.

     “I hope I can make it through dinner without crashing.” Ten says, resisting the urge to jump on the bed and mess up the perfectly tucked sheets.

     Taeyong chuckled, “Same, but I think they are at least letting us spend tomorrow resting in the hotel to make sure we have enough energy to film the next.”

     "Oh, thank god.” Ten sighs while opening his suitcase and laying his things out. “Why don’t you shower while I put my things away? You must be feeling gross with all that makeup on.” Ten suggests to Taeyong.

     “Thanks, Ten.” Taeyong pats Ten on the back before heading into the shower.

     Ten had put on some music to fill up the quiet space when he hears a knock. He checks and sees that it is Doyoung outside their door. Ten unlocks it and motions Doyoung inside.

     “The managers said that dinner will be in about fifteen minutes and to come to the lounge area.” Doyoung says as he lays on the bed with his limbs spread over its expanse. Ten winces knowing Taeyong will probably be irritated at that. But he needs to shower before dinner too, so he goes to the bathroom door and bangs on it.

     “Hyung! Can you be out of the shower in a few so I can get cleaned up? Dinner is soon.” Ten can hear a shout of acknowledgement from Taeyong and goes over to his suitcase and pulls out his pajamas. Doyoung shifts to his side to face Ten.

     “So how was your flight?” He asks casually.

     “It was alright…long and boring. It’s way better flying with the members because you always have someone looking out for you, you know?” Ten unfolds and refolds his clothes while he talks. He hears the water shut off and grabs the rest of his stuff.

     “Well I’m glad you’re with us now. It wasn’t the same without you. I think Taeyong missed you a lot. He keeps talking to us about your special shoot.” Doyoung says as he sits up. Taeyong walks out of the bathroom in comfy pajamas and Doyoung greets him before seeing himself out of their room. Ten hops in the shower and quickly washes the airport grime off before drying off and slipping on his favorite pajamas. His mind replays the last few words Doyoung says and wonders if Taeyong had really missed him as Doyoung had said.

     “Taeyong hyung are you ready to go to the lounge?” Ten asks from the bathroom.

     “Yeah, lets head out.” Taeyoung responds and the two of them walk out of their room and head towards the light chatter downstairs.

     Taeyong and Ten are the last to join, but luckily the others saved food for the both of them. Everyone is talking loudly to each other; sprawled on couches and each other in an organized chaos. Mark is getting a little tipsy, and thus very clingy.

     “Taeyong hyung,” Mark begins while climbing on top of Taeyong’s lap. “Are you excited to get to spend a whole three days alone with Ten hyung?” He was now ruffling his hair while Taeyong asked the group who gave Mark alcohol.

     “Sorry Taeyong hyung” Jaehyun pipes up from the floor. Mark lays back and rests his head on Ten’s lap.

     “What about you hyung? Are you less worried now?” Ten blushes a little.

     “Yes I am feeling far better,” glancing at Taeyong under hooded eyes who had also glanced back at the same time.

     “Well we need to get you to bed Mark. We don’t want you in too much pain tomorrow.” Taeyong says while lifting the nineteen year-old up.

     “I can help you Taeyong hyung. I’m ready for bed myself.” Ten responds by helping lift Mark.

     “We’ll wake up to see you guys off. Goodnight!” Taeyong motions to the other members who are still enjoying their last night abroad.

     “On a scale of 1 to 10 how ready are you to sleep?” Taeyong asks Ten over Mark’s shoulder. “Maybe about a 13.” Ten says laughing. Mark is mumbling quietly to himself as the two older members guide him to his hotel room. Once in the room, they plop Mark down on the bed.        “Do you think we should tuck him in?” Taeyong asks Ten.

     “Probably, he doesn’t look too comfortable how he is now.” Ten responds, taking off Mark’s shoes in the process. Mark attempts to trap Taeyong as he takes off the other’s sweatshirt.

     “Come on Mark let me go.” Taeyong groans. Ten comes up to the two and detangles Taeyong from Mark’s grasp.

     “I think we should go while we still have a chance. Mark will be fine.” Ten suggests. Taeyong nods in agreement and they leave Mark snuggling one of his pillows.

     “Oh, my how I missed you so much!” Ten croons to the bed. Taeyong chuckles at the younger as he joins Ten in the bed.

     “You’re ridiculous Ten.” Taeyong says, looking up at the ceiling as his head finally makes contact with the pillow.

     “True, but so are you.” Ten quips back. There is silence between the two of them for a moment. The two of them lay stiff as a board on opposite ends of the mattress before Taeyong speaks up.

     “What was Mark talking about earlier when he asked you if you were less worried?” Ten thinks for a moment before responding.

     “I’m just a little nervous about filming our video. It feels like forever since I was at a shoot and I don’t want to disappoint.” Taeyong moves his body to face Ten and shifts a little closer, reaching out his hand to squeeze Ten’s arm.

     “You don’t need to worry about things like that Ten-ah. You are an amazing singer and even better dancer. I should be the one worried about not holding up my end.” Taeyong says while studying Ten’s profile. Ten turns his head to look at Taeyong.

     “You know that isn’t true hyung. You work so hard and have written some great lyrics for our song and a bunch of others. I don’t even know how you do it honestly.” Taeyong felt a shiver run up his spine at the compliment. He was used to sassy and light comments from Ten, not this.

     “You’re too kind Ten.” Taeyong says before pulling the covers up to his chin. “We should probably get to sleep now. We did agree to wake up to say goodbye to the other members in the morning.” Ten hums in agreement before adjusting himself so he was on his side. He takes in a deep breath and takes in the familiar scent of Taeyong’s lotion from just a few centimeters away before falling asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the wonderful comments! I really appreciate them and I hope you continue to enjoy how the story unfolds.

      Early the next morning the two are awoken by an excited bunch of boys climbing onto their bed. “Taeyong hyung! Ten hyung!” Lucas and Jungwoo exclaim in an attempt to wake them up.

     “Get up cuddle bunnies!” Jaehyun orders, noticing their very friendly sleeping positions. Taeyong’s head was resting on Ten’s chest with his arm wrapped around Ten’s bare waist as his shirt had ridden up in the night. Ten stirs and shakes Taeyong awake.

     “Tae hyung I think we overslept a little.” Ten says groggily, not processing the casual nickname he gave to the older. Taeyong opens his eyes and is startled to see the entire NCT U unit watching them sleep.

     “Hey! Everyone out. Let us get up on our own time. We’ll be out in a few to say goodbye.” Taeyong scolds, waiting for everyone to scurry out. Taeyong then proceeds to cuddle farther into the sheets.

     “We should probably get up now hyung.” Ten says with a hint of sadness in his voice.

     “Yeah, I know, it’s just so comfy. I think you might make the bed more comfortable.” Taeyong explains.

     “I agree with you, but we really need to say goodbye to the rest and make something out of this day.” Ten replies, throwing the covers off and attempting to drag Taeyong out of bed by the arm. Taeyong protests by going limp.

     A few minutes later everyone is downstairs, the rest of the members have their luggage at their sides. Ten is making sure to hug each of them tightly as he won’t see them for quite a few days. Taeyong sticks closely behind Ten, joining the goodbyes still half awake. Ten was most definitely the more sociable of the pair. Mark was suffering from a mild hangover and not appreciating the loud noises coming from Jaehyun and Lucas.

     “I can’t wait to enjoy a silent plane ride.” He says dramatically while glaring at everyone around him.          

     “Oh come on. You’ll be fine Mark.” Taeyong says, patting Mark’s back reassuringly.

*

      Taeyong and Ten had said their final goodbyes to the members and were sitting in their hotel room resting up before the shoot tomorrow.

     “Should we review the choreography Tae hyung?” Ten asks, looking up from his laptop. Taeyong pauses his music and stands up.

     “Yeah, we can move this table out of the way.” He starts trying to push the table to the corner of the room and fails. Ten just stands there laughing at Taeyong struggling.

     “Can I get a little help Ten?” Taeyong huffs out.

     “Oh I thought you were doing just fine on your own.” Ten giggles but then walks over and helps Taeyong push the table over. Once that is done Taeyong surveys the space, frowning.

     “We really made a mess in here didn’t we?”

     “Well that tends to be what happens when you spend the entire day in one room.” Ten responds. “But we can clean up a little first if that would make you feel better.”

     “Thanks Ten.” Taeyong always appreciates how considerate Ten is about his cleanliness standards. Some of the other members tease him about it, but Ten never made him feel bad.

     “Do you want to help me make the bed?” Ten snaps Taeyong out of his thoughts and walks toward the other side of the bed to help.

      The two of them spend the next few minutes tidying up. Ten put on music and started dancing around in the process. Taeyong smiles at the dancer goofing around until they make eye contact and Ten begins moving toward Taeyong, flirting with his eyes. Taeyong forgets how Ten can be like this and is always startled by the younger’s intense stare. Suddenly Ten is dancing suggestively right in Taeyong’s face trying to encourage the other to dance.

     “Come on hyung! Loosen up! I know what a dork you really are. The others aren’t around, you don’t need to try to be cool with me.” Ten says, placing his hands on Taeyong’s hips and making them sway. Ten was right. Taeyong really was a big goofball and he sometimes forgot how serious he could get trying to keep everyone in order. He decided to swing his hips as Ten instructed and lifted his arms to rest on Ten’s shoulders. Ten smiled up at Taeyong and Taeyong smiled back. He started to get a little more into it and moved a little closer to Ten. This surprised the younger a little but was glad Taeyong was getting into it and he moved his hands a little lower.

     “I don’t think this counts as cleaning up.” Taeyong comments.

     “But I think we could count it as practicing choreography. We do need to work on our chemistry.” Ten says.

     They continue dancing around the room in each other’s arms, laughing when one of them does something ridiculous. Suddenly there is a knock on their door and in response Taeyong trips over Ten’s legs and they both fall on the bed in a fit of giggles.

     “Coming!” Ten yells, tackling Taeyong before getting up and answering the door. It is their manager with a few bags full of take-out.

     “Hey Ten-ssi. Here is dinner for you and Taeyong. Please try and get some sleep tonight. We are starting early tomorrow morning.”

     “Thank you hyung! We will.” Ten reassures his manager. Ten closes the door and turns around. Taeyong had started cleaning up the room again while Ten was talking to the manager. “FOOD!” Ten exclaims. He had forgotten how hungry he was.

     They spent the rest of the evening eating and reviewing choreography. It was weird to think all this work they had spent creating this song and stage would reach one of its finale stages before release tomorrow.

     “Tae hyung, it’s not too late yet. Do you want to go to the pool?” The hotel they were staying at had an indoor pool and spa, which is something they don’t normally have access to back at the dorms.

     “Sure that sounds fun.” Taeyong says. He smiled a little at the nickname while putting everything back in its place. The two friends walk into the swimming area wrapped in robes. There is no one else in the space. They put down their towels and stuff on a nearby table and sit at the edge of the pool with their feet dipped in the water.

     “Oooh the water feels nice!” Ten says excitedly.

     “Yeah I’m glad you suggested this.” Taeyong agrees. Ten is startled when he feels Taeyong’s hand on his shoulder, pushing him off the edge and into the water.

     “Hey! Unfair Taeyong!” Ten yells. In retaliation, he grabs Taeyong’s leg and pulls the other into the water with him. Taeyong sputters and runs his hands through his now soaking wet hair.

     “You will pay for this Ten!” Taeyong tackles Ten before he can escape to the other side of pool. The room echoes with the sound of splashes and laughter as the two roughhouse with each other.

     Soon the two are out of breath, slouched on the steps in the shallow end. “Do you think we have enough time to hop in the hot tub?” Taeyong asks.

     “Why? Are you planning to make a move on me hyung?” Ten says jokingly.

     “Oh shut up.” Taeyong says, blushing while getting up and walking to the smaller pool of water. That sort of banter between them has started to happen the more they worked together, and yet Taeyong was turned into a bumbling mess whenever Ten said something flirty. Ten follows after the other and sighs as the hot water envelopes his aching muscles.

     “I think this was actually a really good idea. I didn’t know how sore I was from yesterday.” Taeyong thinks out loud.

     “Do you want me to massage you hyung?” Ten offers, moving closer.

     “Yes please. As long as you agree to not pull any tricks.”

     “Now why would I do that?” Ten says slyly. Taeyong glares at Ten. “I was just kidding.” Ten reassures him.

     Ten digs his fingers into Taeyong’s shoulders. Taeyong hisses slightly but also leans into the touch to encourage Ten to keep going. “Wow you must be really sore hyung,” Ten comments on the tightness of the other’s muscles. He presses his thump into the back of Taeyong’s neck before moving down his spine to the lower back. Ten changes his position so his legs are on either side of Taeyong and continues working out the knots in his back. Taeyong’s eyes are closed and soft hums are slipping from his mouth. As he feels Ten’s hands move down his back he feels butterflies in his stomach and blood rush to his crotch. It takes a few minutes for him to realize what his body is doing. He interrupts Ten’s massage, a blush creeping up his cheeks again.

     “I think we should probably head back to our room now.” Ten’s fingers pause.

     “Yeah, we’ve probably been here an hour.” Ten agrees and gets up, offering a hand to help Taeyong out of the water.

     They head back to the room and Taeyong heads to the shower first. Ten opens his phone to see a message from Doyoung:

_The flight was super boring but we are back home now._

_Mark spent the entire time complaining about his hangover…what a baby._

_How are you and Taeyong hyung?_

     Ten smiles at the message. He hadn’t talked to any of the other members at all that day.

           _I’m gald you guys got home alright. We’re doing fine._

_Mainly spent the day relaxing and preparing for tomorrow._

_Just got back from the pool so that was fun!_

     He texts back to Doyoung. He doesn’t wait for a response because Taeyong is out of the shower and it’s his turn to get cleaned up.

     A half hour later both of them are tucked in bed with the lights out. “I hope tomorrow goes okay. I don’t want to let anyone down.” Ten says, looking up at the ceiling. He feels a little bad for still being worried about it after his talk with Taeyong last night. The two are much more comfortable sharing a bed tonight and don’t worry as much about keeping a barrier. Taeyong reaches over to Ten and starts running his fingers through Ten’s hair.

     “You’ll do fine Tennie. If you feel worried about something, don’t be afraid to talk to me.” Taeyong comforts Ten. The younger feels like a cat with Taeyong’s slender fingers working their way through his silver hair. He unconsciously shifts closer to Taeyong and intertwines his legs with the other.

     Within a few minutes Ten is asleep and Taeyong still has his finger combing Ten’s hair. Taeyong has trouble falling asleep because he can’t take his mind off Ten’s fingers on his back and the effect it had on him. What did it mean? Was his body trying to tell him something? _Ugh_ Taeyong thinks. He doesn’t have time to think about these sorts of things. He looks over to Ten sleeping beside him and smiles. Ten is definitely special to him and that’s all that matters right now.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told myself I would establish a consistent update schedule with this fic and pace myself, but I have zero self control.

     Both Ten’s and Taeyong’s alarms blare tunes into the early morning. Groans leave their mouths simultaneously and Ten climbs on top of Taeyong, latching on like a koala.

     “I’m excited but I do not want to leave this bed.” Ten sighs and Taeyong laughs and slaps him in response.

     “Get off Ten! We need to get up.” Ten slowly detaches himself and stands up. Taeyong texts their manager to let them know they are awake. They both get ready in fifteen minutes before walking downstairs for a quick breakfast and then heading out to get in the car to go to the shooting destination.

     When the car reaches the destination, they climb out and are ushered into the building to get hair and makeup done. The entire process is completed with both of the members knocked out. A half hour later the stylists wake up Ten to get dressed. He sees Taeyong sleeping next to him and takes the opportunity to get some incriminating photos for later use. Once he is satisfied with his selection he tells Taeyong to wake up and they head to their rack of costumes.

     “Well I don’t think we are going to be very warm today.” Taeyong says, rubbing the thin fabric of one of his dress shirts.

     “Better stock up on the pocket warmers then.” Ten replies before removing his sweatshirt and grabbing the outfit the stylists told him to change into. Taeyong remains frozen as Ten strips, his eyes glued to the younger’s figure. The butterflies return to his stomach and he shakes his head before hurriedly taking off his own sweatshirt and changing into his own outfit.

     Ten was eager to start the shoot as he wanted everything to be fresh in his mind, so he would be less likely to mess up. He and Taeyong exit the dressing room wrapped in warm parkas and walk toward the director to begin the first scene. The two sadly part with their warm coats and get into position after blocking the piece. Once the director yells cut they both scurry toward the crew with their coats and hot coffee. There is a space heater in the corner and they huddle in trying to capture as much of the heat radiating from it as possible. Ten tries to edge Taeyong out of the way to get a better angle.

     “Hey! Don’t think you’re getting away with that! We’re in this together and that means sharing our only sources of heat in this frigid cold.” Taeyong exclaims with indignation. Ten laughs and continues to try to push Taeyong out of the way.

     “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” Ten taunts back. Taeyong decides that it is time to take action and walks toward the snow piling up near a door. He grabs a handful and walks back to Ten, careful to avoid the younger’s gaze.

     “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” Taeyong repeats Ten’s words and shoves the snow down the back of Ten’s parka. He knows that the stylists would normally tear him up for making a move like this, but they were done with this outfit and it was just snow. Ten shrieks and runs away from Taeyong who laughs while happily taking control of the space heater.

     “I can’t believe you did that hyung!” Ten pants after having had recovered from his initial shock to the cold solid invading the warmth of his coat. He walks over to Taeyong and playfully shoves him. “The duet is cancelled! Time to go back home!” Ten continues on jokingly and Taeyong pushes him back laughing.

     The shoot continues on and consists of spurts of dancing broken up by frozen huddles and giggles from the two members. The staff would sometimes have trouble getting them to stop goofing off for the cameraperson taking behind the scenes footage. Ten is asked to stay behind and talk a little about the choreography while Taeyong changes into his next costume. The cameraperson asks him what it was like working with Taeyong and how the rehearsals came along and many similar questions. Ten felt a fondness grow in his heart as he talked about the experience and couldn’t stop the smile forming on his lips.

     After they finished talking to him he got up and was about to head to the dressing area when Taeyong walked out in their next outfit. Ten halted his steps when he saw that Taeyong was shirtless under his blazer. Taeyong looked so polished and…sexy which caused Ten to be at a loss for words. Taeyong had always been known for having incredibly captivating stage presence, but Ten was so used to him be dorky that it was strange to see him like this.

     “I know. I look ridiculous.” Taeyong says, striding up to Ten.

     “No. I think you look hot Taeyong hyung.” Ten says flashing a devilish smile once he had collected himself after initially seeing his partner. Taeyong scoffs, overwhelmed by Ten’s response, and walks off while Ten goes in to change himself.

     They had finally reached the last set and were sharing a blanket, waiting for the crew to get ready for the next shot.

     “Let’s imitate Jeno and Jisung.” Taeyong says and brings the corner of the blanket to cover mouth and gives a cute expression. “We’re cute too.” He continues and the two move their heads in closer to prove this, but are startled when their heads bump together.

     “Ow!” Ten exclaims and rubs his head, moving a safe distance away from Taeyong’s head. “We should face the fact that we will never be as cute as the Dreamies Taeyong hyung.” They are then told its time to continue filming and hand the blanket to a crew standing near them.

     A few more hours later the shoot is finally done and Teayong is talking to the camera before suddenly turning around and jamming to “We Are Family,” happy about getting to go to sleep soon.

*

     It is late at night when they finally make it back to their room. They are carrying with them their dinner and silently sit down at the desk in the corner to eat quickly before getting ready for bed and sleeping. Both are checking their phones for the latest SNS updates, having been unable to look at anything during the duration of the shoot. Ten chuckles at something on his phone and Taeyong looks up.

     “What is it?”

     “Oh I was just watching one of those video compilations that fans make and it’s actually really funny.” Ten states, continuing to laugh.

     “Oh, can I see?” Taeyong asks, his curiosity building. Their fans always made interesting things.

     “Sure.” Ten hands Taeyong the phone with a devilish grin on his face and Taeyong looks at the screen.

     “I can’t believe you Ten.” Taeyong stumbles over his words as he reads the title of the video “NCT Taeyong: Clumsy Moments.” Taeyong hands the phone back to Ten with a frown on his face.

     “What?! It’s hilarious.” Ten says indignantly, although he knows exactly what he is doing. Taeyong’s face is getting a little pink as he continues to eat his food.

     “So is there anything you want to do on our day off?” Taeyong changes the subject and Ten clicks his phone off.

     “I think it would be kind of fun to just walk around and hang out, play it by ear.” Ten says.

     “Maybe we could get something for the members that couldn’t come with us.” Taeyong suggests.

     “That sounds fun, it would be cool to get some souvenirs. I sort of doubt that we will be back here.”

     “Okay I’m dead but we should really get cleaned up first.” Taeyong says as he stands and cleans up the table.

     “I can just shower with you to speed up the process. I think if I don’t keep moving I’ll fall asleep.” Ten says, helping pick up the trash.

     “Yeah sure.” Taeyong says and walks to the bathroom to turn on the water. Ten plugs in his phone and follows Taeyong into the small room. Taeyong has already gotten in the shower and Ten quickly undresses before joining him. The next few moments are spent in silence as they take turns under the water, rinsing their hair of all the products the stylists piled on earlier that day. Ten opens his eyes briefly and makes eye contact with Taeyong and holds back a laugh. Taeyong looks at Ten questionably while holding the bar of soap.

     “You have raccoon eyes Tae hyung.” Ten explains.

     “So do you, but I didn’t say anything.” Taeyong retorts and grabs the tiny bottle of hotel shampoo and throwing it at Ten’s chest. In reality, Taeyong thought Ten’s eyes looked quite pretty. The glitter from his makeup earlier had spread around his eyes along with his eye shadow and created a smoky, glittery effect. “Now stop hogging the water. I need to wash the soap off.” Teayong says a little frazzled and makes Ten move to the other side of the shower.

     They finish washing quickly and Ten hands Taeyong one of the clean towels on the rack before taking one for himself. Taeyong slips a little as he steps onto the mat and Ten grabs onto his arm to steady him. The older notices the butterflies in his stomach again before finding his balance and walking out into the main part of their room. Tiredness has overcome the both of them, so they don’t bother with actual pajamas and instead opt just for boxers.

     “Let’s not set an alarm.” Ten suggests and Teayong nods before falling face first into his pillow. Neither of them takes too long to get comfortable, limbs splayed in every direction and both very aware of where their bare skin brushes up against the other.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was definitely one of my favorite chapters to write. The vlog of that day off in Ukraine showed how sweet their relationship is. Let me know what y'all think!

     Ten opens his eyes and sleep is built up in the inner corners which makes his eyelashes stick together. He looks around and sees Taeyong still asleep next to him. Ten watches the older for a few moments, thinking he looks kind of cute with his hands clutching tightly to the covers and his flaming red hair sticking up everywhere. Ten reaches over to the nightstand to pick up his phone to check the time. He accidentally hits Taeyong lightly and he shifts in his sleep. He tries to be more careful when readjusting his position because he sees no need to wake Taeyong up quite yet. The clock reads 11:41am. Ten decides to lie in bed for a few more moments to enjoy the peaceful silence before getting up and heading to the bathroom. Honestly, he wouldn’t mind waking up like this more often.

     After he is out he thinks it’s probably time to wake Taeyong up and crawls over to the other.

     “Taeyong hyung. It’s time to get up.” Ten says with a soft voice. Taeyong’s eyes flutter open and he looks up to Ten above him.

     “What time is it?” he asks, disoriented.

     “Almost noon. We should probably get up if we want to have time to explore.” Ten says, moving to his suitcase to get dressed.

     “What do you think of this outfit?” He asks Taeyong while holding up a shirt and pants.

     “I think it looks good. Can I borrow your oversized jean jacket?” Taeyong replies and finally pulls the covers off, walking to his own bag.

     “Sure, I bet it’ll look good on you.” Ten says and hands him the jacket. The next twenty minutes or so are spent with the two of them getting ready to go out.

     Fourty-five minutes later they are walking out of the hotel lobby, after having had a quick breakfast, into the streets of Ukraine. They decided to not do anything too special for the afternoon as they were going to a cool restaurant for dinner.

     “It looks like there is a park a little ways down in that direction.” Taeyong says. “It would be fun to play in the snow, right?”

     “Yeah, let’s go.” Ten responds, looping his arm with Taeyong and starts walking down the sidewalk. Taeyong feels a shiver run down his spine as the younger slips his arm into his and he has trouble holding back a smile.

     Once they reach the park, Taeyong breaks away from Ten and starts running through the snow with his arm flung behind him like a five year old toward a flock of birds searching for snacks. After he has disturbed the birds he turns around and smiles satisfied toward Ten, clearly proud of his work. Ten is bent over laughing at his friend’s silliness before reaching down for a handful of snow to launch at Taeyong. He quickly dodges Ten’s next hit and their fight goes on for a few more minutes before Taeyong finally tackles Ten from behind and makes him drop the snow in his hands. Ten feels Taeyong’s warm breath on his ear and his body heat warm up his back. It feels nice.

     “Here, let’s take a picture.” Taeyong unwraps his arms from Ten and pulls out his phone. They bring their heads together as Taeyong holds up the phone. Ten sticks out his tongue, pretending to catch snow, and leans farther into Taeyong. The older turns his head toward Ten and smiles.

     After the park, they walk farther down the road to a small market area with lots of little stalls filled with trinkets. They briefly separate to pick out some items before Ten returns to Taeyong with his new purchase. Taeyong is goofing around with the toys and Ten warns him to not break it. However, Taeyong does not seem very concerned about that at the moment.

     “Don’t you think Chenle and Jisung would love these?” Taeyong asks Ten for his opinion.

     “They’ll probably like anything you get them, hyung.” Ten says and Taeyong knows that he is probably right, but still wants to put care into his selection.

     By the time they are done shopping and walking around some more it is time for them to head to the restaurant for dinner. The two of them were very excited to eat some authentic Ukrainian food. A car picks them up and takes them to the location. Ten is looking out the window at the different buildings being passed by. Their knees knock together as the car bumps along the uneven road.

     They finally arrive and climb out of the car. Taeyong’s white shirt pressed against him as a cold wind blows over the area and Ten brings him a little closer to his side. Both of them are amazed at the icy wonderland that surrounds the wooden structure where they will be eating. Taeyong points his camera at the view and makes silly noises while Ten walks next to him, amused by his hyung’s actions. Ten wondered why Taeyong was acting so silly today. He comments on the traditional outfits the waiters are wearing as they walk into the restaurant and sit down at their table.

     The next few moments are spent in frustrated silence as they try to understand the menu. Ten is able to help a little as his English is pretty good, but that only goes so far as a lot of the dishes are unfamiliar to them. The two attempt to struggle through a little longer, leaning into each other, unaware of what personal space is, and laughing at their total befuddlement of the options that lay before them. They give up and finally decide to ask for help. It was a struggle to get the attention of a waiter. They were both too quiet and didn’t want to be rude.

     “We need to be more confident.” Taeyong says and at long last they make eye contact with someone and she comes over to explain the menu to them. Ten guides the majority of the interaction while they order.

     As they wait, they pull out their phones again and look at all the photos they’ve taken on their day off while sipping on the coffees they ordered.

     “We can send this one to the other members. What do you think?” Taeyong asks. The photo is the one of the two of them in the park with Ten’s tongue sticking out, attempting and failing to taste the snow.

     “Yeah, I think that’s a good one to send.” Ten says and leans closer to inspect it. His hair brushes against Taeyong’s cheek. Ten takes the selfie camera from the managers and starts being silly, making oohs and aahs at the menu and drinks before them.

     “Cappuccino. I love coffee.” He says seriously. Taeyong holds back a chuckle as he munches on a roll.

     A few moments later the waitress arrives with two drinks, which they were told was a Ukrainian specialty. Taeyong takes a sip of it and is startled by its potency. Ten, however, manages to take a large sip and simply smiles looking into the glass.

     “This is quite tasty.” He comments, before setting the drink down. Taeyong uncrosses his legs and places his foot down only to find that Ten’s foot is right in his foot space. He expects Ten to move it, but after a second passes it is clear that he was not going to. He decides to move his foot lightly up the other’s calf to annoy him. Ten turns his head towards Taeyong and makes a face. Taeyong just gives a cheeky smile back.

     By the time the food comes the two of them plus the managers are starving. The pair is a little surprised by some of the things they ordered, but still excited by the options. Taeyong takes up the task of serving everyone and carefully places dumplings on the plates, showcasing them to the camera before getting Ten’s attention and bringing a fork to the other’s mouth.

     “What do you think Ten?” Taeyong asks for Ten’s opinion and Ten nods in approval as he chews. The two continue feeding each other more than one would think two platonic friends might, catching eyes with each other each time. Unknown to anyone else, Ten had slipped off his shoe and was running his toe along Taeyong’s ankle. Every now and then Taeyong does a little jig in his seat as he eats his food, trying to ignore Ten’s distractions.

     Ten thinks about how obsessed Taeyong is with food and it’s just one of many things Ten loves about his friend. When the dessert arrives the two of them are sitting back in their seats, a little tipsy from whatever was in that drink. Ten had been playing with his foot the entire meal and Taeyong decided that it was time to take the bait so he reaches his hand over and pinches Ten’s thigh. Clearly the younger wasn’t expecting this move and lets out a little yelp. The managers ask if something is wrong.

     “No, just had a little shiver.” Ten replies with his voice a little higher pitched than earlier.

     When they finish eating, Taeyong pulls out the selfie camera again and shows the two exiting the restaurant, clearly very full. They are surprised when, as they leave, they are handed small packets filled with tiny cookies. To finish off the footage for the Ukraine trip the two wave while walking back to the car, the setting sun making the snow appear extra white.

     “I don’t want to leave, hyung.” Ten pouts as they drive back to the hotel.

     “Me neither. It’s been so fun getting to travel and spend time with you.” Taeyong says back. He grabs Ten’s hand, which was resting in the center seat between them. “I promise to make time to hang out with you even when we return to Korea.” He says and squeezes Ten’s hand. Taeyong feels tingles radiating from their joined hands and looks at Ten with an extra fondness. Ten looks down at their hands, a little bit of surprise on his face. He wonders if Taeyong liked holding hands as much as he did. They look out the window in silence, but continue to hold hands until they reach the hotel and have to get out of the car.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story continues! I'll be buying BTS tickets in a few hours and I've been working on the fic to distract me. Here's to getting lucky lol. 
> 
> *Warning: It starts to get a little smutty at the end of this chapter

     The manager talks to them for a few minutes in the hall about tomorrow’s plans before letting them retire to their room.

     “I’m not at all tired.” Ten says as he stares at the pajamas he laid out on the bed.

     “Yeah, me neither. What time is it?” Taeyong agrees.

     “Not very late. Is there something you want to do?” Ten responds.

     “Honestly, I really want to see all the lights they have up at nighttime again. I got to see them briefly during one of the photoshoots, but never got to just look at them.” Taeyong looks out the window toward bright lights in the distance. Ten grabs his jacket from the hanger and takes Taeyong’s over to him.

     “Come on lets go.” Ten insists as he starts to put Taeyong’s arms through the sleeves.

     “Oh come on Ten, we can’t.” Taeyong tries to resist Ten half-heartedly. “What if the managers find out?” He continues but Ten doesn’t listen to him.

     “We’ll be fine. We’re functioning adults who can make their way around a city block.” Ten says and Taeyong finally relents.

     Ten takes Taeyong’s hand in his as they sneak out of the hotel. He then sticks their intertwined hands in his large pocket to keep them warm. Taeyong walks with a skip in his step, excited to see the lights or because he is holding Ten’s hand again, he isn’t sure. Ten can’t take his eyes off Taeyong as they walk to the center with all the lights. Once they get there they see a small cafe and Ten offers to buy them hot chocolates. As they wait in line Taeyong presses into Ten more and the two get passing looks from the other customers.

     A few minutes later they are holding the warm cups in their hands and standing next to a tree wrapped in fairy lights. Taeyong takes a sip of the drink and comes away with whipped cream coating the tip of his nose. Ten starts laughing at him and Taeyong looks confused.

     “What?” He asks, still unaware of his situation.

     “You have whipped cream on your nose.” Ten says as he swiftly pulls out his phone and snaps a photo. “Here let help you.” He reaches his finger over and wipes the whipped cream off Taeyong’s nose before bringing his finger to Taeyong’s mouth, motioning for him to lick it. The older takes the other’s finger between his lips and licks the sugary substance off, holding his gaze with Ten as he does so. The two stare at each other for a moment. The cold air making their breath fog up as it leaves their mouths.

     “Do you want to walk around a little?” Ten asks, breaking the silence.

     “Yeah that sounds nice.” Taeyong says back and takes another sip of his hot chocolate. The lights hung in the trees and displayed on buildings reflect in the snow, making the winter wonderland even prettier. The hot chocolate warms their bodies and Taeyong thinks that this is the best night he’s had in a while.

     “Thanks for convincing me to go out Ten-ah.” Taeyong says and turns to look at Ten. Ten turns to face Taeyong as well.

     “Of course Taeyongie hyung. I don’t want you to ever miss out on anything.” Ten says and grins back at the other with that million-watt smile of his. It’s as if Taeyong has lost all grasp on reason and rationality as he leans into Ten and presses a sweet kiss to the other’s cheek. The action surprises Ten and he raises his eyebrows.

     “What was that for hyung?” Ten asks softly, their faces still close.

     “I don’t know. I just wanted to. It felt right.” Taeyong explains simply. Before he knows it Ten is lifting up onto the balls of his feet and pressing his lips to Taeyong’s. The older stays completely frozen, unsure of what to do. Ten keeps his lips on Taeyong’s for a second longer before pulling away and blushing slightly.

     “Now what was that for?” Taeyong repeats the other’s question from before.

     “I just wanted to.” Ten replies simply, copying Taeyong’s answer and shrugging.

     “I’m glad you wanted to.” Taeyong says after a beat, smiling as the butterflies in his stomach flutter like crazy. Taeyong grabs Ten’s free hand and motions for them to walk. “You know I think I’m ready to head back to the hotel.” He says plainly, but then he glances over to Ten and there is a glint in his eye that speaks much more than his words.

     “Yeah I think that sounds like a good idea.” Ten agrees and throws his empty cup into a trashcan before moving closer to Taeyong.

     They take their time walking back; conversing about the latest music they’ve been listening to just like they had on the walk there.

     “Wait, Taeyong hyung can we stop in here?” Ten asks, motioning toward a corner store.

     “Yeah sure. What do you need?” Taeyong asks as they walk inside.

     “I just wanted to grab a couple things before our flight back tomorrow.” Ten explains. Taeyong wanders around the store while Ten grabs some chapstick and other toiletries, sneaking in a packet of condoms and a bottle of lube, before going to the register and quickly making his purchase. He motions to Taeyong that he is ready to leave and the two exit the store. Five minutes later they are back at the hotel and sneakily walking back up the stairs. Taeyong opens the door and the two of them walk inside, taking off their jackets and shoes. Ten turns around to face Taeyong.

     “I’m still not very tired…” He says and looks up to Taeyong through his eyelashes. Taeyong blushes at the clear hint in Ten’s words before walking closer to him.

     “Yeah me neither. You have any ideas?” Taeyong asks, trying to keep his cool. Less than a second later Ten closes the space between them and presses his lips firmly against Taeyong’s. Taeyong reacts by wrapping his arms tightly around Ten’s waist. Ten looses his balance and falls backwards onto the bed, taking Taeyong with him. The younger breaks away from Taeyong and looks into Taeyong’s eyes, his breathing a little heavier.

     “Do you like this idea?” Ten asks, flirtatiously. Taeyong responds by reattaching his lips to Ten’s. Ten’s lips are soft and plump against Taeyong’s and taste like the hot chocolate they had earlier. A few minutes of kissing later, Taeyong feels Ten’s tongue run along his bottom lip which causes Taeyong to part his lips and allow the other’s tongue to slip in. Taeyong thought about how every move Ten made left him wanting more. He slides his hand down Ten’s side and finds the hem of his shirt, brushing his fingers along the strip of skin visible between the hem and waistband. The feeling of Taeyong’s nimble fingers run along his hot skin makes Ten push his tongue farther in the older’s mouth, battling with Taeyong’s.

     Ten’s hands were cupping the back of Taeyong’s neck and he decides to run them through Taeyong’s hair before going down his spine and slipping under his shirt. Taeyong moves his hips into Ten at the feeling of the other’s hands on his bare back, which causes Ten to let out a small moan. He then flips them over so Taeyong is underneath him and they scoot up the bed a little so Taeyong’s head rests on the pillow before Ten dips down to Taeyong’s ear. He licks the outer part before taking the lobe between his teeth and lightly tugging, then moves down to Taeyong’s neck, the tip of his tongue running along the exposed skin. Taeyong spreads his legs a little and Ten puts his own leg in the space and grinds his thigh up lightly into Taeyong’s crotch.

     “Fuck, Ten.” Taeyong whispers out as Ten sucks on his neck while continuing to grind into Taeyong’s crotch.

     “Glad we’re on the same page.” Ten says teasingly looking into Taeyong’s eyes. Taeyong just rolls his eyes and kisses Ten on the lips again, fed up with Ten’s ridiculousness.

     Taeyong’s hands find their way back to the hem of Ten’s shirt and tug it over his head before discarding the shirt on the floor beside the bed. He presses the palms of his hands on Ten’s chest and feels the other’s heart racing. Ten was still sucking on Taeyong’s neck while he slowly unbuttoned the his shirt, moving his kisses lower down the chest until the shirt was completely undone. Ten pauses for a moment to look at Taeyong. The both of them are breathing heavy with their lips swollen and spit everywhere, and dicks half hard.

     “I don’t want to bring up bad news, but I don’t have any condoms or lube or anything.” Taeyong says.

     “Oh, don’t worry. I bought some in the corner store on the way home.” Ten replies simply with a devilish grin on his face.

     “Wait, what?!” Taeyong asks, the shock clear on his face.

     “Well yeah. It’s not everyday your friend kisses you and you have the opportunity to go to a nice hotel room the both of you share without having to worry about any interruptions.” Ten responds.

     “B-but, Ten! I can’t believe you. You really think we should do this???” Taeyong was flustered and thought Ten was surprisingly calm.

     “I mean why not? Do you want to?”

     “Well, I think so. I definitely want to keep kissing you. I’m just not sure what it’ll mean later on if we do anything.” Teayong explains his worries.

     “We can worry about that stuff later. If we let our idol lives dictate our every movement, when are we going to be able to do things for ourselves?” Ten tries to calm Taeyong down. The older had a tendency to worry about things too much.

     “So you actually want to do this?” Taeyong clarifies.

     “Yeah. I mean I’ve really enjoyed what we’ve been doing. I don’t think I want it to stop.” Ten says. “Are you down with it?” Taeyong is quiet for a minute. His eyes pan over Ten’s body propped up next to him and seems to make up his mind.

     “Okay, let’s do it.” Taeyong replies, locking eyes with Ten. Taeyong could not believe the events of the evening and that everything had led to him here, with a shirtless Ten and sex not just an idea, but something that was actually going to happen.

     “So are you going to kiss me now or what?” Ten asks, breaking Taeyong out of his thoughts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry to leave you here, but I'll update in a few days with more!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the sweet/frustrated comments on the last chapter lol. They really make my day! Hope this makes up for leaving you on a cliffhanger with the last update.

     Taeyong curves his hand around the back of Ten’s neck and brushes his thumb across his plump cheek. Taeyong thought about how cute Ten looked when he was pouty and leans in close to brush his lips over Ten’s. He pulls back to look into Ten’s lust filled eyes for a moment before lightly pulling Ten closer to him, inviting the other to move on top of him. At this action, Ten wasted no more time bringing their lips together as he laid over Taeyong. Ten thought about how their bare chests felt pressed against each other. It was an equally comforting and sexual feeling that he couldn’t really describe. He just knew he wanted more of it. Taeyong rubbed his hands over Ten’s biceps before experimentally moving them down to Ten’s ass and squeezing it, curious about what it would feel like. The action made Ten buck into Taeyong a little more roughly and let out a groan into the older’s mouth. Taeyong squeezed again, kneading his fingers into the firm muscle and pushing Ten more into his crotch. He wanted to touch every part of Ten’s warm skin and have Ten do the same to him.

     Ten breaks away from Taeyong’s lips and presses light kisses down his jaw and collarbone before making his way to one of Taeyong’s nipples, which was starting to perk up from all the excitement. He loved how tender Taeyong’s skin felt underneath his lips and how it still felt clean even after all their activities earlier in the day. Ten lays his tongue flat on his nipple before licking up. Taeyong’s breath hitches and he grabs onto Ten’s hair. The younger glances up and seeing Taeyong with his eyes closed and chest heaving arouses him. He brings his gaze back to Taeyong’s nipple and takes it between his teeth lightly while continuing to graze the tip of it with his tongue. Ten places his hand on Taeyong’s thigh before moving it up to meet the other nipple, twisting it gently, eager to get Taeyong even more worked up.

     Taeyong’s self control continues to disappear as his hands grasp Ten’s hair tighter and he rolls his hips into Ten with more frequency. Ten does the same thing to Taeyong’s other nipple before Taeyong pulls him back up to kiss him. Ten smiles against Taeyong’s lips, he can’t help himself. Taeyong was shy, but clear about what he wanted, and Ten liked it. As they kiss, Taeyong fiddles with the front of Ten’s pants, which causes Ten to pull away.

     “Did I do something wrong?” Taeyong asks with concern laced in his voice.

     “No, not at all Tae.” Ten reassures. “I was just going to help you get my pants off.”

     “Oh okay,” Taeyong blushes. Ten sits up a little and unzips his pants before lying on his back to shimmy them off the rest of the way.

     “Could you have found a less unceremonious way to do that?” Taeyong asks, covering his mouth in an attempt to stifle a laugh.

     “Hey, I wouldn’t be a smart ass right now. You are about to get sex after all.” Ten says before crawling back to the other. Taeyong was going to say something else, but was stopped when Ten’s hand cupped his erection before slowly unbuttoning Taeyong’s jeans. Ten’s forwardness constantly surprised Taeyong and he honestly wasn’t sure how he was going to handle it in the future.

     “Is this okay?” Ten asks, waiting for Taeyong’s nod before undoing the zipper. Ten removes Taeyong’s pants and Taeyong is surprised to see Ten lay between his legs. Taeyong is watching very carefully as Ten nuzzles his nose over his erection through his underwear and Ten notices his dick twitch. Ten looks up and holds eyes with Taeyong as he slips his fingers under the waistband and slowly slides them off. Taeyong’s mind is running a million miles a minute as he continues to watch Ten’s actions with intensity. How does Ten make his heart skip a beat with every single touch? Where did Ten become such an amazing kisser? How is Ten into this too? Why does Ten like him and want to do all these things to him?

     His mind freezes when Ten runs his tongue along the underside of Taeyong’s dick before latching his mouth around the head. Ten wraps his hand around the base and flicks his tongue through the slit before lowering his mouth down. Ten likes how powerful he feels holding onto Taeyong’s dick and wants to feel the weight of him pressing inside his mouth. He hollows out his cheeks and bobs his head ever so slowly, eliciting a groan from Taeyong. Ten begins to speed up a little and Taeyong moves his hips in response. He couldn’t remember the last time someone sucked him off and it had never been from someone like Ten, who could do it so well and take his time. Far too soon, Taeyong thought, Ten removes his mouth from Taeyong’s dick with a popping noise and licks his lips to catch the saliva dripping out. He gives one last peck before sitting up and walking to the bag from the corner store, there is a slight sass apparent in his walk as if he was trying to put on a show for Taeyong. Taeyong, on the other hand, felt a little embarrassed for watching Ten but couldn’t help himself.

      Ten grabs the lube and a condom from the bag and returns to the bed, not forgetting to take a moment to look at Taeyong sprawled on the bed.

     “Do you want to bottom or should I?” Ten asks, holding up the lube.

     “I’m honestly fine with either.” Taeyong says.

     “Okay, I guess I’ll do it then.” Ten hands Taeyong the bottle before taking off his underwear and lying down on bed. “Can you prep me?”

     “Yeah, okay.” Taeyong responds. He’s a little unsure of what to do, but he figured now was the best time to recall his late night sessions reading gay smut. He squeezes some of the gel onto his fingers and rubs it between them to warm it up a little before moving down to Ten’s ass and coating his rim. Ten hisses a little as the cold liquid makes contact with his skin.

     “This alright?” Taeyong asks, looking up.

     “Yeah I’m great, it’s just a little cold.” Taeyong nods and adds a little more lube to his index finger before slowly easing it in. He can tell Ten is tense, so with his other hand he fondles his balls as a distraction. Taeyong starts pumping his finger in and out of Ten’s hole as Ten begins to relax. He was fascinated by how his finger disappeared into Ten’s hole, and a little turned on by it too. Not too much later Taeyong decides to add another finger, placing wet kisses to the inside of Ten’s thigh and sucking lightly. Ten is surprised when he feels Taeyong’s lips on his legs. He hopes Taeyong sucks enough to leave a mark so that he can look at it later.

     When it seems like Ten has adjusted to the addition, Taeyong tries curling his fingers a little. After a few attempts, he hears a whimper escape Ten’s mouth. Taeyong repeats the same motion and Ten makes more noises. Taeyong likes to see that his actions are doing things to Ten and tries pushing a third finger in, starting out slowly and picking up the pace once it’s clear Ten is enjoying it.

     “Taeyong-ah it feels so good.” Ten rasps, responding to every movement of Taeyong’s fingers. Ten’s words go right to Taeyong’s neglected dick and he decides to remove his fingers.

     “Do you think we can, you know?” He asks hesitantly. Taeyong was a little surprised by his own neediness and hoped Ten didn’t think it was annoying.

     “Yeah, I’m ready.” Ten says, glancing down at Taeyong’s boner. He liked how Taeyong’s dick curved into his stomach and just wanted to touch it. “Can I put the condom on for you?” He asks when Taeyong reaches for the packet.

     “Uh sure,” Taeyong hands it over to Ten who rips it open, pushing Taeyong onto his back. “Wait, why am I on my back?”

     “I thought I might ride you if that’s okay?” Ten responds and unrolls the condom onto Taeyong’s dick smoothly.

     “Oh yeah, yeah that’s fine.” Taeyong blushes a little, feeling slightly exposed with Ten hovering over him. Ten grabs the bottle of lube and Taeyong keens when Ten slicks up his dick in a brisk motion.

     What feels like in no time at all to Taeyong, Ten is straddling him with his palm against his chest for support. Taeyong places his hands on Ten’s hips and watches as Ten grabs Taeyong’s dick with his other hand and guides it to his hole.

     “Are you ready?” Ten asks, making eye contact with Taeyong.

     “Yeah.” Taeyong confirms before Ten slowly lowers down. Taeyong is pleasantly surprised by how good it feels to have Ten’s tight walls around him. Tingles run from his head to his toes as his eyes flutter close. Ten sits still for a second with Taeyong fully inside him and Taeyong tries to remain as still as possible before he feels Ten start to rise up. At the movement Taeyong opens his eyes again to see Ten smiling down at him.

     “What?” Taeyong asks, breathless.

     “You’re really beautiful.” Ten says, establishing a slow rhythm. Taeyong opens his mouth to speak, but no words come out. Ten bends down and plants a kiss on Taeyong’s nose before moving to his mouth. The kisses are soft and sweet, unlike what’s going on with their lower halves.

     Too soon, Taeyong thinks, Ten pulls away. Taeyong is about to ask for more kisses but then suddenly Ten speeds up, his own dick slapping against his stomach with an obscene noise.

     “Shit,” Taeyong exclaims and starts to fuck up into Ten as well.

     “Yeah,” Ten agrees, letting his head fall back. Taeyong feels so good inside him and he can’t help letting small moans out each thrust.

     Taeyong sits up because he wants Ten closer to him and the change in angle makes Ten yelp as Taeyong’s dick now hits Ten’s prostate straight on. Ten’s heels press into the mattress and their heads rest together, but both are too breathless to kiss.

     “Keep going like that.” Ten encourages Taeyong, nails digging into the other’s shoulders. One of Taeyong’s arms are wrapped tightly around Ten’s waist and the other grabs ahold of Ten’s dick, pumping it to match their thrusts.

     “You look so good, Ten” Taeyong encourages the younger, noticing that he seems to be getting closer. He was also really close and starting to have trouble holding anything back. He decides to flip them over so Ten is on his back and Ten wraps his legs around Taeyong’s hips, hooking his ankles together. Ten had always thought Taeyong’s hips were pretty and to get to feel them pounding into him was more than he could ever hope for.

     “Are you close?” Ten asks Taeyong.

     “Yeah, are you?” Taeyong looks into Ten’s glistening eyes and is reminded again of how expressive they are. Ten’s eyes could be soft or stern, playful or bored. All Taeyong ever had to do was look into them to know if Ten had something on his mind.

     “Yeah, really close.” Ten bites his lips before pulling Taeyong closer to him, bringing their lips together and kissing briefly before focusing on getting off. It was hard to kiss to deeply as the both of them were breathing shallow from pounding into each other. Taeyong feels a knot grow in his stomach and his mind clear. He comes as he continues to slide into Ten. Ten can tell Taeyong is coming by Taeyong’s blissful expression and follows soon after with Taeyong pumping his shaft at a quickened pace.

     Once the both are finished, Taeyong collapses on top of Ten, worn out.

     “That felt really fucking good.” He says, his hair is sticking to his forehead and Ten reaches down to brush it out of the way.

     “Yeah it was. I’d like to do it again sometime.” Ten responds, smiling sweetly at Taeyong.

     “Me too.” Taeyong thinks that Ten’s smile is one of the most beautiful he has ever seen. “We should probably shower.”

     “We could do it together.” Ten suggests as Taeyong moves to get off him.

     “Okay, but I don’t think I have it in me right now to go again.” Taeyong warns.

     They head to the shower and turn on the water. Even though the two had only a few minutes before been fucking into each other shamelessly, their activities in the shower were sweet and silly, not too unlike their shower from the previous day. Ten tries to sneak in kisses randomly, liking the blush that forms on Taeyong’s cheeks each time.

     “Ten, stop it!” Taeyong says, unable to keep the huge grin on his face.

     “Why? You’re so cute when I kiss you.” Ten laughs. The shower continues with fits of giggles and kiss attacks before the both of them get tired and decide to get out. Taeyong puts on boxers and an oversized shirt before crawling into bed.

     “Ugh it’s going to be so hard returning to dorm life.” He sighs as Ten climbs in with him.

     “Yeah, but we’ll get things figured out, don’t worry hyung.” Ten replies.

     “I think you can stop calling me hyung now, Ten.” Taeyong turns his head to Ten.

     “Okay Taeyong.” Ten says a little sarcastically before scooting closer. Taeyong wraps his arms around Ten and places his head on his chest. Ten loops his legs through Taeyong’s before quickly falling asleep. They were both extremely tired from their recent activities.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Sorry about updates slowing down. I have published all of my pre-written chapters so the process is a lot slower now. We're transitioning back to life in Seoul and that means dorms and schedules etc. I have tried my best to make this as accurate as possible. We have the 127 and Dream dorms. I read somewhere that there is a possibility that Ten lives in the Dream dorm and Jungwoo and Kun and Lucas live in another dorm as well. For the sake of simplicity I will probably have most of the dorm scenes happen in 127 and just refer to the other dorms. Enjoy the chapter!

     Taeyong wakes up the next morning with his head resting on Ten’s chest and his arms wrapped around his middle.

     “Morning,” Taeyong says and Ten looks up and plants a kiss on Taeyong’s lips.

     “Hi,” Ten says smiling widely. “It’s time to get up. We have to make it to the airport.”

     “Don’t remind me please.” Taeyong says, snuggling closer to Ten. “I just want to stay in bed all day.” He pouts.

     “But don’t you want to see the other members?” Ten asks smiling at the cute expression on Taeyong’s face.

     “Stop smiling at me like that.” Taeyong covers Ten’s mouth. “And yeah I do, I’m just not looking forward to the pestering of questions that comes with seeing them. We can’t exactly be honest about what happened.” Ten tries to say a response, but Taeyong’s hand was still covering his mouth. “What?” Taeyong asks and Ten removes Taeyong’s hand.

     “We won’t be lying to them though, we’ll just be leaving out unnecessary details.” Ten says. “But anyways, we really do need to get up now, Taeyong.” He stands up and starts pulling out clothes for the plane. Taeyong follows suit and before they leave the hotel room he pulls Ten close to him and steals one last kiss.

     “Okay, time to try to look straight.” Ten says.

     “Like you ever try to look straight.” Taeyong laughs before walking out of the room. They meet with the managers in the lobby and avoid making eye contact, the events of the previous night flooding both of their minds.

*

     It was uneventful getting to the airport and onto the plane. Everyone had been pretty silent up until this point; the end of their sort of vacation had arrived.

     “I’m looking forward to giving all the little gifts we picked up to the other members.” Taeyong says to Ten, striking up a conversation.

     “Oh yeah that’ll be fun, you picked out some good stuff.” Ten responds.

     “You helped,” Taeyong says back. “They’re from both of us.”

     “Aw, Taeyongie you’re so kind.” Ten reaches over and rubs Taeyong’s arm as Taeyong blushes yet again. When will Taeyong be able to not turn red when Ten says cute things to him?     Ten returns to his phone and Taeyong leans back in his seat, thinking about the emotional rollercoaster that had been the past few days. His feelings for Ten had surprised him. Not really the fact that Ten was a guy, he had never really worried about his sexuality before. There had never really been time to think about it, and honestly he didn’t really care all that much. He had always thought people were too worried about that kind of thing. Taeyong had known Ten was gay for awhile. The younger didn’t exactly hide it, despite the protest of the company, but Taeyong admired Ten’s bravery. It was more that the feelings must have been there before, he had just never noticed them. He always had trouble with being open about himself and that caused him to be kind of oblivious to things like this. Maybe some of Ten’s personality will rub off on him and he’ll learn to let things out more.

     Taeyong glances over to Ten and studies his features. He makes note of how his eyebrows scrunch up and cheeks puff out when he is concentrated. How his fingers fiddle with his rings and the lights flashing off his numerous earrings. Taeyong can’t help but feel all jittery inside when looking at Ten, but at the same time a sense of comfort that calms him. The feelings he gets from Ten are far more intense then those he feels with other members. Ten notices Taeyong’s gaze and turns to the older.

     “Is something wrong?” Ten asks concerned.

     “Oh no, just thinking about stuff.”

     “You want to talk about it?”

     “Not right now, but maybe later.” Taeyong says.

     “Okay.” Ten replies, and decides to rest his head on Taeyong’s shoulder, listening to music. Taeyong wondered when Ten had started to like him and what he thought of the whole situation. Things had come at him so fast, and while he didn’t regret it, he wanted to know what it all meant for the future. He rests his head on Ten’s and dozes off.

     Ten is awoken when the flight attendant comes by to offer them drinks and snacks. He carefully detangles himself from Taeyong and notices the smile that crosses the face of the flight attendant as he does so.

     “Would you like anything to eat or drink?” He asks, motioning to the cart.

     “Yeah, could you get us two coffees and that snack pack?” Ten orders for the both of them and the flight attendant continues to the next guest. Ten thinks Taeyong looks so adorable asleep. The older always tries to look so serious all the time, but his favorite Taeyong is the soft one.

     He wonders what Taeyong was thinking about earlier that had put such a worried expression on his face. Ten thinks that it was probably about what their relationship has become and to be perfectly honest, he understands those concerns, but also doesn’t think there is any point in worrying. Whatever is meant to happen will happen and he just wants to enjoy being with Taeyong. However, he knows that state of mind will not fly with Taeyong and mentally prepares himself for the conversation to come when they return to the dorm. Their time in Ukraine was like a dream and it was time to wake up.

*

     The plane lands and Taeyong makes sure to double-check their seats before disembarking.

     “I don’t think we forgot anything, hyung.” Ten tries to reassure the other.

     “I know, but I just like to be sure.” Taeyong swings his backpack on and walks slowly behind everyone entering the airport. “I can’t wait to get home and shower.”

     “That’s not surprising.” Ten laughs. He leans in closer and whispers, “Do you think anyone would get suspicious if I joined you?” These words leave Taeyong a sputtering mess.

     “We can discuss that possibility later.” Taeyong says with a gulp. There are not too many people in the airport and the two are grateful to not have to deal with too many fans. When they get into the car Taeyong grabs Ten’s hand and squeezes. It was as if he was trying to release all his tension with that one squeeze and Ten understood. They finally make it to the dorms and open the door.

     “Yes! You’re back!” Johnny’s large frame takes the two smaller ones in a bone-crushing hug, only releasing them when Taeyong starts gasping for air. “We missed you so much. You have to tell us all about the music video and your other adventures.” The three of them were still in the hallway as Johnny continues speaking. Ten and Taeyong look at each other and start laughing, it had felt like forever since they had spoken to the other members. “What?” Johnny asks confused.

     “We just thought maybe we could continue this conversation in the actual apartment instead of the hall.” Ten explains, at which time Johnny moves aside and motions them into the living room. It was about dinnertime and the dorm was buzzing with activity.

     “We managed to put some dinner together for you guys.” Doyoung says, placing a stack of dishes on the table.

     “Oh wow thanks!” Ten says, “We’ll just put our bags away and we can come eat and stuff?”

     “Okay, don’t take too long though, everyone is pretty hungry.” Taeyong walks to his room and Ten goes to his own dorm, which he did not share with the rest of 127, even if he hung out there enough. But at least he had his own room. He quickly puts his stuff away and cleans his face a little before heading back up to the other dorms and going straight to Taeyong and Johnny’s room.

    “Wow, you were quick.” Taeyong looks up from his suitcase to Ten who was leaning against the dorm frame.

     “Yeah, I’ll unpack later.” Ten says, shutting the door and sitting on Johnny’s bed. Taeyong takes out a bag from his suitcase and hands it to Ten.

     “Do you want to sort through these? They’re the gifts for the other members.” Taeyong continues to carefully organize his clothes while Ten takes out the trinkets they had bought in Ukraine. Taeyong leaves the room briefly to put his toiletries away in the bathroom before coming back in to stow his now empty suitcase.

     “Who gets what again?” Ten asks, holding up one of the nesting dolls.

    “That one goes to Jisung.” Taeyong responds as he lays down on his own bed. Ten transfers over to Taeyong’s bed as well, pressing up to Taeyong’s side as he continues to sort. Taeyong reaches his hand up and begins running his hand up and down Ten’s back. This was the first time they had been alone since the hotel room and the tension was making the room buzz. Taeyong slips his hand under Ten’s shirt and continues rubbing his back. Ten jumps a little, but tries to keep his focus on arranging the gifts.

     A minute passes and Ten can’t pay attention anymore as Taeyong’s hand feels too nice on his back. He places the gifts, all prepared, on the floor and turns to Taeyong.

    “You’re being kind of distracting Taeyong-ah.” He says, placing his hand on his chest.

    “I missed being able to touch you.” Taeyong says with a pout. Ten lowers his head down and places a kiss to Taeyong’s forehead.

    “I missed you too, but dinner is almost ready. We’ll have time after to hang out maybe.” Ten says, but his body betrays him and he ends up kissing Taeyong’s lips anyway.

     Less then a second after their lips touch, Johnny opens the door and the two jump apart.

    “Hey, are you guys ready? Dinner is on the table.” He says, looking into the room. Taeyong and Ten try to look unsuspicious, but both have flaming red cheeks and Johnny eyes them oddly, but doesn’t say anything. They all walk out into the dining area and see quite a spread has been prepared for them.

    “Wow this is so nice!” Ten says. Everyone sits down and passes their dishes to Taeyong, who of course has chosen the position of server. The only sound for the next few minutes are slurping and munching as they all dig into their food. Dinner is never a very conversational time with this group.

     As Taeyong starts to clean up the plates, Johnny starts to ask questions.

    “So you never answered my question earlier when you came in. How was Ukraine and filming the duet and everything?”

    “It was really cool. I can’t believe we got to go to someplace like that. The architecture was amazing.” Ten continues on. “We also got to eat at a really cool place for dinner once and walk around and see lights and stuff.” He pulls out his phone and shows the group photos they took on their day off.

     “Aw Taeyong hyung, you look so soft!” Jungwoo says. Taeyong walks over, curious to see which photos Ten had shown the group.

     “Ten! Why would you show them this one. I look ridiculous.” Taeyong looks at the one when he had whipped cream on his nose from their hot chocolate the last night.

     “It’s my favorite!” Ten replies and shows everyone the rest of the photos. Taeyong goes back to his room to collect the gifts they had got the others.

     “Ten and I have a surprise!” Taeyong walks into the room and sets the bag on the table. “We got gifts for everyone!” Taeyong does a little jig as he pulls out each item and hands it to their respective owner.

     “It was mainly Taeyong, I just helped pick them out.” Ten says.

     “Don’t listen to him, they are from both of us.” Taeyong hushes Ten. Some of the members look between each other at Ten’s informal language and Taeyong’s lack of response to it as if he was used to it. There was a smattering of “Thank you, hyung” from the members and everyone went to their rooms to put away their gifts. Once everyone returned, they broke up into groups, deciding to do different things for their evening.

     “You want to sneak into the shower with me?” Ten whispers slyly to Taeyong.

     “What if they notice we’re both gone? I think Johnny might already be suspicious.” Taeyong replies, trying to stop Ten from feeling up his ass.

     “Johnny doesn’t know anything. Don’t worry about him.”

     “Fine, but we can’t do anything.” Taeyong walks in the direction of his bedroom and Ten follows. The rest of the members are busy with their own activities and won’t care about what the other two are doing. They know to leave them alone after such a long day of travel.

     The minute Ten closes the door behind him he grabs Taeyong by the arm and brings the older to them so their chests are pressed against each other.

     “I told you that we can’t do anything. What if someone hears some-“ Taeyong is cut off when Ten takes his head in his hands and brings their lips together. There is nothing soft about this kiss. Ten doesn’t waste any time slipping his tongue past Taeyong’s mouth and touching every part of Taeyong that he could reach. It takes a moment for Taeyong to respond, but the last straw was when Ten reaches down and squeezes his butt.

     Just as Taeyong looses all resolve, Ten pulls away, breathing heavy and turns to the shower.

     “Why did you do that?” Taeyong whines.

     “I wanted you to relax.” Ten says, but it was clear that he wanted Taeyong to be anything but relaxed.

     “Well you did not accomplish that.” Taeyong says, looking down at his crotch. That kiss had definitely gotten him aroused. Ten laughs and starts taking off his clothes.

     “Come on, let’s get these gross airport clothes off.” Ten says, trying to pull Taeyong’s shirt off for him.

     “I can undress myself.” Taeyong says grabbing his shirt and raising his arms. As Taeyong undresses all the way, he checks out Ten’s naked form. It didn’t feel weird anymore looking at him like this and it was nice how personal it felt without being awkward. Ten stuck his hand under the water before looking over to Taeyong to say it was warm enough to get in.

     “Are you checking me out?” Ten asks.

     “Maybe,” Taeyong blushes before walking over to step into the shower. Ten follows him and presses up against his back.

     “You know it’s okay for you to check me out.” He says against Taeyong’s ear. Taeyong turns around to face Ten and Ten wraps his arms around Taeyong’s neck. “In fact, I like it.” He continues and pecks Taeyong on the lips. Their shower consisted of very little actual cleaning and a lot of kissing. They bring their lips together again and Taeyong wraps his arms around Ten’s middle, every part of their bodies touching. As their kisses become deeper they forget about the water running over them and spend minutes wrapped up in their little world.

     Ten breaks away from the kiss when he starts to feel Taeyong’s dick pressing up against his leg.

     “We should probably get clean now.” He says and Taeyong clears his throat.

     “Yeah, that would probably be a good idea.” Taeyong turns away from Ten, trying not to look down to Ten’s forming hard on and picks up the soap. The rest of their shower is filled with loaded stares and awkward coughs as they try to avoid doing what they so desperately want to do. Taeyong let his mind go back to worrying about how they were going to navigate this whole situation. He wanted to be touching Ten constantly and see his smile at every possible opportunity. He knew that it was only going to get worse as time went on and had no idea how he was going to handle it all. Ten could sense again that Taeyong was thinking about something and he watches the older closely. Eventually, Ten reaches over to turn off the showerhead and climbs out. After he steps out and wraps a towel around himself, Taeyong touches his shoulder.

     “Ten,” he starts.

     “Yeah?” The younger looks to him with a questioning gaze. There was something in Taeyong’s eyes that had not seen before; a kind of vulnerability that he usually hid away from the others.

     “So, where is this going?” Taeyong brings up the question that Ten could tell was worrying him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As we return back to Seoul life, I would like to open up the comments to suggestions or requests for some things that can happen in future chapters. I need some ideas to get my writing back on track. If you have any thoughts, please let me know!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your suggestions left in the previous chapter! Luckily, we were all thinking along the same lines. We're gonna be getting a little angsty, but don't worry.

     The two were standing in the bathroom, fluffy towels wrapped around their waists. Taeyong waits for Ten to say something, his eyes downcast and his shoulders slightly slumped as if he is waiting for a rejection. Ten isn’t really sure why Taeyong seems to take this rejected attitude.

     “Well,” Ten pauses, trying to think of the correct way to phrase his response. “To be perfectly honest, I don’t really know. But I also don’t mind that. I mean we have been friends for a long time and I don’t want that to go away…our relationship is just deeper now.” Ten states carefully.

     “So you want to keep doing what we’ve been doing?” Taeyong confirms. He is looking back at Ten again. There is still an edge to his voice, but there is hope in his eyes.

     “Hell yes.” Ten says, squeezing Taeyong’s slender bicep.

     “So what should our next step be?” Taeyong asks, encouraged by Ten’s emphatic response.

     “I was thinking we could continue on normally, but with all the romantic stuff too. I really like that stuff with you.” Ten seems a little shy just now.

     “I like it too.” Taeyong smiles and his eyes light up as he finally makes direct eye contact with Ten. “But we should probably stop showering so much together. It’s becoming too much of a habit.”

*

     That night the two are in their separate beds, lonely and awake. While it had only been a few days of their mutual acknowledgement of their feelings, it was hard to be away from each other. Ten looked up at ceiling, the room dark. He wondered how long his feelings for Taeyong had been pent up inside him. Everything with him just worked, or at least he thought so and he hoped Taeyong thought the same.

     He picks up his phone and sends Taeyong a message. Cringing slightly at how sappy he was being.

             _I wish you were in my bed right now_.

     Taeyong was resting on his side, rereading the same sentence of an article on his phone, over and over again, when he sees the message from Ten pop up on his screen. He clicks on the notification and can’t stop the smile forming on his face when he reads the words Ten had sent him.

            _I wish I was too._

_Only four nights in the same bed and I have trouble sleeping without you._

_You’re nice to snuggle._

     Taeyong can’t hold back his blush as he presses send. Why couldn’t Ten share his room with him? Johnny was cool, but he will make it entirely too difficult to spend time with Ten without creating suspicion.

     Ten unlocks his phone when it buzzes with Taeyong’s reply. Luckily, Ten thought, Taeyong was being equally sappy. They text each other until they both fall asleep with their phones open to their conversation.

     The next morning Taeyong reaches over, searching for Ten in his bed and comes into contact with only the mattress. He opens his eyes and takes in his surroundings. He realizes that he was back at the dorm and Ten was not in his bed. He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking of all the things that had to be done over the next few weeks. The list was never ending and he sometimes wondered why he did all of this. At times, the reward felt so little for how much work he put into his job. Taeyong sighs and stands up, reaching his arms up to stretch before going into the kitchen for some food. There was a weight in his chest that made him want to neglect all of his duties and not have to be a person that day. The rest of the members were already up, Taeyong had slept in a little from the jetlag.

     Ten opens his eyes and rubs them as he looks over to the clock on his nightstand. It was pretty late in the morning. He climbs out of bed and throws on a sweatshirt before going to the other dorm to see if Taeyong was up. Maybe if he wasn’t he could sneak into his bed to cuddle, he thought.

     He walks in and spots Taeyong standing at the stove in the kitchen, stirring something in a pan. When Taeyong cooked, his focus was entirely on the task at hand. He paid very little attention to other things going on around him, so he had not noticed Ten’s presence. Ten sneaks up behind Taeyong and wraps his arms around the taller’s waist.

     “Who is that?” Taeyong asks, jumping a little and pausing his stirring.

     “Guess.” Ten replies and brushes his lips on Taeyong’s neck. Taeyong tenses.

     “Ten. We can’t do that out in the open like that.” Taeyong says with panic laced in his voice.

     “Oh, no one’s around Taeyong. It wouldn’t even be that strange if someone saw us like this. I’m just hugging you.” Ten wishes Taeyong would loosen up and not be so worried about things.

     Taeyong turns off the stove and moves out of Ten’s grasp before taking the pan to the counter, not making eye contact with Ten. He spoons the contents of the pan out onto a plate before placing the pan in the stove and grabbing a couple items from the fridge.

     “Can I help you?” Ten asks, watching Taeyong’s moves with a sleepy curiosity.

     “No. You are a mess every time you try to cook anything.” Taeyong eyed Ten before continuing his preparations at the counter.

     “I’m not that bad!” Ten tried to defend himself.

     “I don’t trust you in my kitchen. If you want something, then I’ll make it for you.” Taeyong replies. Ten noticed that Taeyong’s voice had lost the warmth he usually had when talking to him. He wanted to make Taeyong laugh and stop overthinking.

     “You know what I really want to eat?” Ten said suggestively, sticking his finger in a jar of jam on the counter and bringing it to his mouth. He looks at Taeyong through his eyelashes and leans on the counter pulling a sexy pose.

     “Hmmm?” Taeyong sounds without looking up from his meal preparations. Ten takes his finger out of his mouth with a pop to catch Taeyong’s attention. He leans over the counter and ghosts his lips against Taeyong’s ear.

     “Your dick.” Ten whispers and grins as Taeyong looks up from the counter, pink traveling up to his cheeks. The red head was not expecting this version of Ten and he really should have known better. Who was he kidding? Ten was almost always like this. Normally he did not mind it, sometimes even liked it, but at that moment he was too concentrated on other things to be able to put up with Ten’s jokes.

     “You can’t keep saying things like that to me when I’m not prepared, Ten.” Taeyong picks up his plate and sits down at the table to eat. Ten follows behind and sits beside him, his legs criss-crossed in the chair.

     “Anyways. What are you up to today?” Ten asks as he sneaks some food off of Taeyong’s plate.

     “I have to work on the choreography for Touch. We have to shoot that music video soon and half of us are no where near ready because of the Boss shooting.” Taeyong replies, slapping Ten’s hand away the second time he tries to take another bite. “I told you I would make you something to eat but you didn’t ask for anything. Stop eating my food.” Taeyong snapped, his level of patience was much shorter than usual. Ten looks at Taeyong more seriously. How easily Taeyong got stressed sometimes scared the younger. There was a lot on his plate and he was always worrying about messing up.

     “I’m sorry for teasing you Taeyong. I don’t want to be the cause of stress, I want to make it better.” Ten says and reaches up a hand to run through Taeyong’s hair. The other leaned into Ten’s hand and closed his eyes, the gesture was simple, but calmed Taeyong.

     “Thank you, Ten.” Taeyong whispered as he slowly breathed in and out. They sit there for a few minutes in silence until they hear a door slam and Sicheng walk in.

     “Hyung, are you ready to get to the studio and start practice?” He looks to Taeyong, who was startled by the interruption of the tender moment between himself and Ten.

     “Oh, I haven’t showered yet. Can you give me a few minutes?” Taeyong started cleaning up his plate, the stress returning to the front of his mind.

     “Yeah, but the others are waiting so I wouldn’t take too long.” Sicheng responds before going to the fridge to get a drink. “What are you doing here Ten hyung?” His expression is quizzical and Ten is fast on his feet.

     “I was just going to try to get Taeyong hyung to make me breakfast, but he refused.” Ten is back to his sassy self as he gets up and walks to Taeyong’s room to say goodbye before going to his own room.

     “Hey Taeyong-ah. When is your next free night?” Ten asks as he walks into the room.

     “I would have to double check, but I think Monday night.” Taeyong replies, picking out some of his practice clothes. “Why?”

     “Well why don’t we go on a date? Get out of the dorms?” Ten suggests.

     “Okay, we can talk about it more tonight maybe?” Taeyong says, looking to Ten.

     “Alright. Hey, can you keep these in your room? I don’t want any of the younger ones accidentally finding it in mine.” Ten asks, handing Taeyong the bottle of lube and pack of condoms from their trip.

     “Uh, yeah sure.” Taeyong says and takes the items from Ten. Ten leaves, passing Sicheng in the hall.

     “Taeyong hyung! Johnny asked me to ask you to get his portable charger from his desk and bring it to practice.” Sicheng walks into the room and spots Taeyong scrambling to put something into his bedside drawer. One of the condoms slips from Taeyong’s grasp and falls on the floor. Sicheng’s eyes follow the packet and squint to try and get a look at what it was. His eyes widen as he realizes what it was as Taeyong quickly stows the escaped condom into the drawer with the rest.

     “Yeah, I can do that!” Taeyong says a little frazzled. He looks to Sicheng who tried his best to hide his surprise.

     “Cool thanks, I’ll let him know.” Sicheng says and walks out of the room. What did he just see? Is Taeyong having sex with someone? Taeyong takes a deep breath and collected his things before heading to the bathroom. Boy did he hope that Sicheng hadn’t seen anything. This whole thing with Ten was going to be a lot harder to hide than he realized.

      Taeyong rushes to take a shower and walks out the door with Sicheng who had waited for him to get ready. When they get to the practice room Taeyong notices Sicheng runs straight to Yuta and begins whispering as he sets his stuff down. Johnny walks up to Taeyong.

     “Hey, did you get my charger Taeyong?” He asks Taeyong, looking down at the other.

     “Oh yeah. Here you go.” Taeyong says and hands the battery to Johnny, but his attention is still directed to Sicheng and Yuta on the other side of the room. Johnny follows his gaze and wonders what Taeyong is thinking.

     “Is something going on?” Johnny asks. Taeyong looks away from the other members and to Johnny.

     “Hmm? Oh no, it’s nothing. I’m just tired.” Taeyong says before moving to the center of the studio and stretching a bit. He couldn’t let himself think of anything except the choreography he had to get perfect.

*

     Ten was in his room, working on a new song when he hears a knock on his door.

     “Come in!” He says and turns to see Kun walking in. “Oh, hey! What’s up?”

     “I was just kind of bored and wanted to hang out with someone.” Kun explains, sitting on Ten’s bed. “What are you up to?”

     “I’m just working on a song. You can listen to it if you want.” Ten unplugs his headphones from the computer and turns on his speakers.

     “Yeah sure, I would love to!” Kun perks up and lies down on Ten’s bed with his head propped up on his hand. They spend a few minutes listening to the track before Ten looks over to Kun, who is looking up at Ten.

     “What do you think?” Ten asks.

     “It’s really good. I can’t really understand all of it, but I’m really excited to see the music video too. Aren’t they taking you to LA?”

     “Yeah, I can’t believe SM is putting that much effort into it. I was thinking it would just go on SoundCloud or something, honestly.” Ten fiddles with a wire connected to his computer.

     “I’m hungry. Want to go out and get something to eat?” Kun asks, sitting up. Ten perks up at the thought of food and gets up to put on his coat.

     “Yes. I am down for that. Let’s go!” They walk out the door and head downstairs to the streets in search for a snack. Kun smiles at Ten as they walk in sync down the road.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally updated! Sorry for the long wait, but I had terrible writer's block and a very busy few weeks. I've been trying to get back into the groove and fully intend on continuing this story so don't worry!

     Later that evening Taeyong returns to his room to see some flowers and a bag of candies placed on his bed. He walks over to the items and brings the flowers to his nose. He can’t hold back a grin as he notices that the candies are some of his favorites. Taeyong carefully puts the flowers back down and takes a picture of the ensemble before sitting down on the bed and unwrapping one of the sweets. He goes to the messaging app on his phone and texts Ten.

             _Thank you Ten-ah!_

     He decides to go to the kitchen to get a vase to put the flowers in, a smile still plastered on his face. He carefully arranges the bouquet in the vase and places it on his bedside table. Taeyong then goes to the bathroom to get cleaned up and get some sleep. It was a long day and all he wanted to do was sleep forever.

            When he comes out of the shower he noticed Ten had texted him back.

            _I’m glad you like them. Can we go out Monday night?_

     Taeyong sighs, anxiousness mixing with his romantic feelings. He wasn’t sure if he would have the time to go out. Taking time away from work always made him feel like he was wasting his life.

            _Idk, I’m worried something will come up._

     Ten reads Taeyong’s response and tries to think of what to text back. He figured that Taeyong would have an issue with going out so close to a comeback, but it was just going to get more difficult. Ten decides that tonight is not the night to push it and comes up with another solution he hopes Taeyong will agree to.

            _Okay, then why don’t we have a night in? We could watch a movie together and get takeout?_

     Taeyong had started to drift off to sleep when his phone buzzes. His vision is blurry as his eyes adjust to the brightness of the screen. He reads over Ten’s reply a few times before typing a quick okay and falling back asleep. Taeyong wasn’t even sure what he should be doing with the Ten situation at this point. His heart was telling him that there was something there, but his brain was telling him to have a reality check and back off.

     Ten gets the one word text and feels a little put off. He knew that Taeyong was stressed, but he seemed more on edge than usual and didn’t like the feeling that put in his stomach.

     Johnny shakes Taeyong awake the next morning.

     “Wake up, Taeyong. We have to get to the studio.” Johnny says once he sees Taeyong’s eyes open. Taeyong sits up wordlessly and goes through the motions of getting ready. “Where did the flowers come from?” Johnny asks.

     “Uh…My family sent them to me.” Taeyong stumbles out. Johnny looks at him quizzically.

     “You’ve been acting kind of strange recently. Is something going on?”

     “No, nothing. Just stress. Forget about it.” Taeyong says before leaving the room to use the bathroom. He really needed to get better at hiding his emotions. He also needed to be more positive with Ten he realized. It wasn’t fair of him to dump all this stress on the other so early while still wanting something more from him. He was going to have that movie night with Ten and not let outside thoughts spoil it, Taeyong decided.

***

     It took far too long for Monday night to arrive, but it was finally here. Taeyong hadn’t seen Ten very much because they were both busy working on different projects, but that morning Ten pulled him aside in the empty studio before everyone arrived.

     “So are we on for tonight?” Ten asks Taeyong, fiddling with his hand.

     “Yeah. Did you have any idea for what movie to watch?” Taeyong asks, glancing to the door every few moments.

     “I have a few ideas. We can decide tonight.” Ten says, tilting his head and smiling at Taeyong. “Can I kiss you?” he asks, leaning in a little. Taeyong turns his head toward Ten, away from the door on the other side of the room, and widens his eyes.

     “Here? Someone could walk in at any moment!” Taeyong blushes but feels excitement bubble inside his stomach.

     “Well isn’t the risk part of the fun?” Ten teases.

     “No. Ten-“ Ten didn’t let Taeyong get another word out as he plants his lips on Taeyong’s, then turned around and left the room quickly, leaving the other a frazzled mess.

      Not long after Ten left the room, Sicheng enters with Taeil and Yuta behind him.

     “You alright Taeyong?” Taeil asks while Sicheng and Yuta eye the leader strangely.

***

     That night Taeyong is standing in his room staring at his closest trying to decide what to wear. He wanted to be comfortable since they would be watching a movie, but he also wanted to look nice. Ten always looked good and it was sometimes hard for Taeyong to keep up with him…in more ways than just fashion if he was honest with himself.

     Taeyong finally decided on an outfit and left his room to clean up the living room a bit. Luckily the rest of the members seemed to be somewhat busy with themselves and there wasn’t anyone else in the room. He grabs some disinfectant wipes and a duster and starts to wipe down surfaces. As he walks to the trashcan in the kitchen he hears the door open.

     “Is that you, Ten?” he calls out.

     “Yeah.” Ten follows Taeyong’s voice into the kitchen. “Are you ready to watch a movie?” Ten asks excitedly while holding up a bag of what Taeyong assumes must be snacks.

     “Yeah, what movie are we watching?” Taeyong smiles at Ten and walks into the living room, grabbing the remote and sitting on the couch. Ten sits down next to him, not leaving any space between the two of them.

     “I thought we could watch Coco.” Ten replied, pulling out the snacks he had brought. He knew how much Taeyong liked snacks.

     “Okay!” Taeyong says and grabs one of the snacks and smiles at Ten.

     They put on the movie and sit in silence while snacking. Taeyong is too absorbed in the food to notice Ten has changed his attention to the person beside him, studying the way he does a little jig after a particularly yummy bite and how his eyebrows raise when something unexpected happens on the screen.

     Taeyong felt relaxed sitting next to Ten, not worried about anyone walking in on them doing something suspicious. All they were doing was watching a movie and that was something that platonic friends did all the time. That is, until Taeyong felt Ten’s arm settle around his shoulders. It was as if Ten could read Taeyong’s mind. Ten pauses the movie and faces Taeyong.

     “Don’t worry Taeyong, no one’s gonna come in. They’re all out doing other things. I checked.” Ten reassured the older who was trying to not inch away from the other to make things look less date-like.

     “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be so anxious about it.” Taeyong apologized. “I’m just worried that Sicheng and Johnny know something is up and I know that they probably wouldn’t care, it’s just so early and I’m not even sure where this is going. I just need to stop thinking so much sometimes.” He rambles on, letting the concerns pour out. Ten doesn’t let his concentration stray from Taeyong as he continues.

     “Hey, hey. It’s okay to have these concerns. You’re safe and we’re not doing anything wrong. If anyone finds out we can talk to them and work it out, just remember how it felt in Ukraine.” Ten runs his hand up and down Taeyong’s back to try and calm him. “Is it okay if I hug you?” Ten asks, hoping he’ll receive a yes. Taeyong nods and leans his head into Ten’s chest, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths.

     “Ukraine was really nice.” Taeyong whispers, warm fuzzies filling his stomach.

     “Yeah it was. Now come on, let’s watch the movie.” Ten shifts Taeyong so his head is resting on his chest and presses play on the remote. Taeyong lets himself continue to lie on Ten and take deep breaths.

     They lay like that while the movie plays and fall into the same breathing pattern. Ten smiles at how Taeyong nuzzles farther into his shirt as he runs his fingers through the other’s hair the way Taeyong has come to anticipate.

     The movie comes to an end and the two of them are immersed in the story, tears brimming their eyes. When the credits start to roll, Taeyong stretches his arms and lifts himself off of Ten to get up. As he does so, Ten snakes his arm around Taeyong’s neck and brings their lips together. Taeyong places his hands on either side of Ten to support himself as he reacts to Ten’s lips pressed onto his.

     Ten shifts himself lower so he is under Taeyong and pulls his body so it is pressed flush against his. After a few moments of enjoying the sensation of each other’s lips, the two break apart.

     “You wanna move to your bedroom?” Ten asks slyly.

     “Yeah,” Taeyong replies with a hint of a grin and moves off Ten. Taeyong very uncharacteristically leaves the TV on and the snack wrappers on the coffee table as he grabs Ten’s hand and takes him to his empty bedroom.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a short chapter, but at least it's smutty. Working on the next segment as I post this! I really appreciate all of your support.

     The two stumble into Taeyong’s bedroom, unable to keep their hands off each other. Taeyong walks over to the nightstand to flick on a soft light as Ten keeps his arms wrapped around Taeyong’s middle. They fall onto the bed and immediately lock lips. They take their time with their kisses, concentrating on the feeling of each other’s lips pressing together. Taeyong lets his hand make its way down Ten’s side and squeezes his ass over Ten’s jeans before slipping his slim fingers underneath the waistband.

     “Oh, you’re eager” Ten says as he realizes where Taeyong’s hands had traveled.

     “Well you are insanely attractive.” Taeyong smiles shyly, unsure of where such forward words came from.

     “It’s good you think that…” Ten pauses, letting the thought hang in the air. “Because I’m going to be honest with you right now. I really want to fuck you.” As he says those words, Ten lets his hand brush over Taeyong’s crotch. He smiles at the slight gasp that escapes Taeyong’s mouth.

     The banter subsides and the make-out resumes, with even more fervor. Shirts rise up and pant legs bunch up in the need for skin on skin contact. Ten sucks dark purple marks all over Taeyong’s chest and neck. He wanted Taeyong to remember he was Ten’s every time he looked in the mirror. Taeyong digs his fingers into Ten’s back and whimpers as Ten bites down.

     “Too much?” Ten asks with concern.

     “No, keep going. It feels good.” Taeyong whispers and grinds into Ten to reassure him that he was enjoying it. Ten needs no more encouragement and removes Taeyong’s shirt to get at his nipple.

     Ten moves his tongue in circles, then side to side in quick small motions to get Taeyong’s nipples hard. Once Ten feels them harden, he grabs the tip between his teeth and pulls while keeping his tongue in contact. Taeyong’s chest rises in response, loving the mixture of pain and pleasure. After Ten does the same to the other nipple, Taeyong flips the two of them over and play’s with Ten’s ears as he undoes the button and zipper of his pants. As he feels the zipper give, Taeyong moves his mouth to Ten’s crotch.

     Before he removes Ten’s pants, he teases Ten a little by mouthing at Ten’s dick through his briefs. As he does this, he notices that Ten’s hands have made their way to the pants and were fumbling to take them off. In a move that surprised himself, Taeyong grabs Ten’s wrists and pins them above Ten’s head. Nose to nose, Taeyong reprimands Ten.

     “Now who’s eager?” Taeyong quirks an eyebrow.

     “I just thought I would speed things along.” Ten replies, a shyness in his voice that is not usually present.

     “Well I’m going to take my time on this. Okay?” Taeyong’s voice has a commanding tone that brings shivers down Ten’s spine.

     “Yes, sir.” Ten says with a slight mocking tone, but obeys Taeyong’s request.

     Taeyong moves back down to Ten’s crotch and swiftly removes Ten’s pants before planting light kisses along the waistband of his briefs. After what seems like an eternity to Ten, Taeyong finally frees Ten’s hard on from the confines of the underwear. Ten lets out a content sigh when Taeyong runs his tongue from Ten’s balls to the very tip of his dick before slipping the tip into his mouth.

     Taeyong grabs the base and begins pumping slowly as he takes his time sucking the tip and circling his tongue. He then takes in the rest of Ten’s dick, sucking with the whole thing in his mouth until he feels Ten start to thrust into him. Taeyong quickly removes himself from Ten and looks up.

     “What did I tell you?” Taeyong asks with an authoritative tone.

     “That you want to take your time.” Ten moans.

     “Exactly, so stop moving your hips.” Taeyong says before returning his attention to blowing Ten.

     Taeyong spits on Ten’s dick to make his hand slide easily before putting his mouth back on.

     At that exact moment the two are interrupted by the bedroom door opening, a towering figure standing in the door with a shocked expression on his face.


	12. Chapter 12

    “What the fuck is going on?” Johhny yells. Taeyong and Ten freeze, Ten’s dick still stiff in Taeyong’s hand. The three are at a stand still until Johnny comes to his senses and closes the door.

     “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. I hope no one saw that.” Johnny mutters as he locks the door for extra insurance, something that the couple should have thought to do before they began undressing. Taeyong and Ten unfreeze and scramble to put their clothes back on. The two are sitting on the edge of Taeyong’s bed when Johnny turns around to look at them.

     “Please explain this.” Johnny says, waving his arms between the two of them.

     “Well-“ Taeyong starts slowly, unsure of how to explain what Johnny just walked in on.

     “We’re sort of together.” Ten finishes quickly.

     “I can see that.” Johnny replies. “Very together it seems.” All three boys sit in silence for a minute, Johnny still working through this new information he just acquired.

     Johnny finally collects himself, the initial shock seeming to have worn off slightly, and looks up. “So how long has this been going on? What even is it? I have so many questions for you two.”

     “We got together in Ukraine. I guess you could say we are dating? We like each other.” Taeyong says. He feels unsure in his answers as things are still not super defined between the two of them. Taeyong looks to Ten after he responds, asking for confirmation.

     “Yeah, we haven’t told anyone.” Ten adds on.

     “You do realize that sneaky dating 101 is locking the fucking door if you’re going to get it on right? Johnny asks, slightly disbelieving of his friends’ inability to keep secrets, yet have one of the biggest secrets of all.

     “Well we didn’t think anyone would be coming home soon and this wasn’t exactly planned…” Ten continues on, “we kind of just caught up in the moment and didn’t think of it.”

     “We’re really sorry you had to find out this way. We hadn’t really figured out how we were going to navigate telling anyone yet. We thought it was a little premature.” Taeyong apologizes.

     “I guess me finding out is probably for the best because you clearly need someone teaching you how to actually keep things secret.” Johnny says, using his clearly tired of his members’ shit tone. “Now I want to get to sleep soon and I don’t want to hear the two of you making out so either go find someplace else or Ten leave.”

     “I’ll leave, it’s getting late anyway.” Ten gives Taeyong a light peck on the cheek, which causes Taeyong to turn beet red as he sees Johnny observing the interaction. The two roommates watch the short dancer leave the room.

     As soon as it’s just the two of them Johnny starts snickering. “I can’t believe that just happened.” He says as Taeyong tries to make himself as small as possible. “Little Taeyongie getting it on with Tennie! I can’t believe I hadn’t seen it before. There was no way “Baby Don’t Stop” could have been that hot without sexual tension between the two. You have so much explaining to do later, but right now I want to shower and get to sleep.”

     He gets up and heads to the bathroom as Taeyong lies back down on the bed, recapping everything that had just happened. He couldn’t believe how careless Ten and him had been. Forgetting to lock the fucking door? Why is it that whenever Ten is involved he just seems to loose all rationality and becomes this careless person who lets himself fall into these situations.       These thoughts continue to swirl around in Taeyong’s mind, a tightness in his chest building up, when he hears his phone ding. It was a message from Ten.

             _Hey. Are you alright? Is Johnny being annoying?_

     Taeyong was grateful for the text, otherwise his thoughts might have led him to a panic attack.

            _Yeah he is, but what else should we expect from him. At least it seems like he’ll keep it a_

_secret, but we really need to be more discreet…_

Ten had gotten back to his apartment and immediately grabbed a beer from the fridge and took a few sips before going to his room and contacting Taeyong. He felt bad for leaving Taeyong to handle Johnny alone, but he didn’t think it would be any better for him to stay. When he got an opportunity he would talk to Johnny by himself and lay some ground rules.

            _Yeah I guess. We should talk about what to do later. It probably won’t be long before the others find out. Should I tell you goodnight?_

     When he reads Ten’s message he realizes how sleepy he actually was. He wasn’t turned on anymore and the tiredness from earlier had set back into him.

            _Probably…goodnight :3_

     Ten smiles at the emoticon and gives a quick reply back before settling on his bed with the rest of his drink and some youtube videos.

     Taeyong has gotten into bed and listening to a new album when Johnny returns from the bathroom.

     “You ready to go to sleep?” Johnny asks Taeyong who just nods. Johnny climbs into bed and turns out the light. “I’m getting us coffee tomorrow and you’re going to spill all the details about you and Ten. No getting out of it.” Johnny says before turning to face the wall and let Taeyong be.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I apologize for the long break. I’ve just had a breakup that had a pretty long buildup and it made it really hard to write for this story. I am still having a lot of trouble, but your comments that have come up the past few weeks have reminded me of the positive community here and made me want to contribute something again. I write a lot from experience, so maybe this will help me remember the good times and concentrate less on the difficult ones. However, it might also mean that this story will have a little bit of heartbreak trickled in. Despite everything that has happened, I still want to continue this story and might start a new work soon. Let me know what you think!

    Taeyong sits in a coffee shop, knee bouncing in nervousness under the table. Johnny walks over and takes the seat across from him, placing two coffees on the table and sliding one to Taeyong.

     “So…” Johnny starts slowly. “Can we talk more about all this stuff with Ten?”

     “Uh yeah. What did you want to know?” Taeyong responds, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding eye contact with Johnny.

     “Well I got the abbreviated version last night, but there is definitely more to the story.”

     “I mean yeah, but I feel like there is a lot we still haven’t figured out.” Taeyong has never been one for these kinds of conversations.

     “Are you not sure if you like him?” Johnny asks gently.

     “No, I’m pretty sure of that. The whole situation just really stresses me out and makes me think I shouldn’t get too invested.” Taeyong takes a sip of his coffee and feels his tongue burn as he swallows, his taste buds swelling slightly and his senses dull.

     Johnny was well aware of Taeyong's anxiety. It made things a lot harder for Taeyong, but it also made him such a great leader and artist.

     "How does Ten make you feel though?" Johnny asked. Taeyong wasn't expecting that question from Johnny. He was expecting crude and invasive questions about their sex and never-ending chiding. He looks through the window and takes a sip of his drink. It was a dark and rainy day. One of those days where the sun never shows and it wouldn't matter if you got up at 2pm because it would still feel like it was 6am.

     "He makes me feel really calm and excited at the same time... Which is really weird. Those two emotions don't mix! How does that work? How can he do that too me?" Taeyong starts to ramble as he gets stuck on this question. It was simple how Ten made him feel, but at the same time so so complex. Ten made him feel so few emotions but also so many.

     Johnny just smiled at Taeyong. He was so happy for his two friends. He was so happy that Taeyong had found someone that could shake him up a little, but let him be himself too. "Taeyong. It's alright, you answered the question great. It wasn't supposed to put you in a crisis." Johnny touched his hand to Taeyong's sleeve to break him out of his panic.

     "Sorry, I just can't stop my thoughts these days. The company just gives me more and more projects to work on and I then this thing with Ten happened and it's just all too much." Taeyong rests his face in his palms.

     "Well ideally, Ten might make you feel less stressed. It doesn't sound like you have problems with him, just the circumstances, so you could maybe work something out. Also you see him all the time in practice so it won't be like you don't get to see him. I'll help you guys." Johnny hadn't been in that many relationships, but he had more experience than Taeyong.

     "But how can we keep it secret? The company can't know and if we tell everyone in the group it'll make it even harder to keep it from them." Taeyong knew this was a serious concern.

     "I think you're right that you shouldn't tell the rest of the group right away. But if you think about it, the company might actually like the extra chemistry because it'll be great fan service...as long as you keep it from getting too gay." It was all about business for the company and Johnny knew very well that they were just commodities to their bosses. As long as they were in good light they had some leverage to work with.

     "So what should we do?" Taeyong needed to be told staying with Ten was the right decision and not something that would screw up his entire life.

     "Well I can't tell you everything you should do. It is your life," Johnny joked. "But I think your first course of action is finding ways to see each other. Just the two of you. Maybe plan a weekly date where you don't have to stress out or anything. If you don't you're bound to get sloppy around everyone else and be found out."

     "I guess that sounds reasonable. I got so antsy when we got back from Ukraine. I really don't want a relationship where I can only be only with him for five minutes at a time." Taeyong appreciated that the conversation had come to something he was more comfortable with. Plans. He liked plans.

     "You will get this figured out. If it works out then it was meant to be. If it doesn't then it's okay. No matter what happens, do you think you would regret what has happened so far?" Johnny always asked himself that when he got too caught up in old memories. He knew that Taeyong needed to remind himself of it too.

     "No. I was really happy with what happened in Ukraine and I don't think I could ever hate Ten."

     "Then I think we're on the right track." Johnny sat back in his chair and sipped the last of his drink. "Are you ready to head out? We have to be in the studio in a bit."

     "Yeah. Thank you for not asking any gross questions." Taeyong said as he got up.

     "Oh don't worry. Those are coming. I just thought I would get you drunk first." Johnny chuckled at Taeyong's displeased expression as they walked out of the coffee shop.      


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a bit longer chapter to follow up with the previous. I'm looking forward to writing the next few scenes. I think things will really get moving again!

       That evening Taeyong got back to the dorm and crashes down on his bed. He had only a moments pause before his phone started to vibrate. Someone was calling him. No one ever calls him except his parents. He checks the screen and sees that it is Ten. His grip on the phone loosens and he struggles to regain his grasp before finally accepting the call.

       "Hello?" His voice was high-pitched and breathless.

       "Did I interrupt some important alone time? Ten teases.

       "What? No I just got home," Taeyong responds puzzled for a moment, then realizes what Ten was implying. "Ten! I can't believe you."

       "Well I wouldn't have minded if you were. I would have joined you in fact." Just the thought of it made Ten change the motivation of his call.

       "What did you call me about?" Taeyong tried to get the conversation back on track.

       "I just wanted to talk to you. Do I have to have a reason to call you?"

       "I guess not." Even though he knew Ten had had feelings for him, he couldn't fully believe that Ten had called him just because.

       "So how was your day? You had coffee with Johnny right?" Ten was laying in bed with a Troye Sivan song playing in the background.

       "It was long. Coffee with Johnny was...different than I expected." Taeyong wanted to tell more to Ten about what they talked about, but didn't want to bother him with the anxiety-inducing details.

       "How was it different than you expected?" Ten asks.

       "He didn't ask about the sex." Taeyong responded, straightforward.

       "Ah, so what did he ask?" Ten says, rolling over onto his stomach.

       "He just sort of asked how things were going and we talked about what to do about everyone else, etc." Taeyong wasn't really sure why he was nervous to talk to Ten about any of this. He knew how to talk to him. He was just so wrought up with following proper procedure and not screwing anything up.

       "Oh, so did you guys come up with any good ideas?" Ten just really wanted everything to work out with Taeyong and he would do anything to keep him.

       "Yeah, he suggested that we have a weekly date with just us and to not start telling other people yet."

       "That sounds like a good idea! When do you wanna do it?" Ten was very happy with the possibility of weekly dates.

       "I don't know. Our schedules are so crazy and vary so much. Do you have any ideas?" Taeyong was getting stressed again. His schedule will change at a moment's notice and Ten's was completely different from his.

       "Well why don't we choose a night where once a week we have a sleepover? It doesn't have to be sexual, but if we can't always predict when we can have dates, we can just always have a night together and add dates when we have time." As Ten suggested this idea he imagined what it would be like to fall asleep with Taeyong after a long day of work and a warm shower. It was such a domestic thought, but as much as Ten loved being adventurous, the simplest activities sounded the nicest.

       "I guess that would work." Taeyong had missed sleeping next to Ten in the short time they had been back from Ukraine. Even with just a couple nights in the same bed, he was already used to the wonderful warmth and familiarity that Ten's body provided.

       "Well what about Saturday nights? We are usually free Sunday mornings so that way we could have some of the morning too." Ten was fiddling with his bedsheet as he waited for Taeyong to respond.

       "I think that could work. Whose room will we stay?" Taeyong's chest tensed up slightly in anxious excitement.

       "We could alternate? We could stay in my room this weekend."

       "Okay. I'll come over Saturday then?" It was only Tuesday night. Taeyong wasn't sure how he would make it through the rest of the week without becoming a puddle of sweat from the build-up.

       "I look forward to it." Now that they had established a plan, Ten was feeling a little flirtatious. "So, what are you wearing?" Ten could feel Taeyong blush and hear the sigh over the line but that only made him want to be even more ridiculous.

       "Ten. You have to give me some warning! I wasn't prepared for that."

       "That's the point Taeyongie."

       "Well I am wearing gross sweaty clothes from being in the studio all day and I need to shower. Can I text you when I'm out?" Taeyong sat up, about ready to head to the bathroom.

       "I will be awaiting your message." Ten says, chivalrously.

       "Bye Ten" Taeyong says before ending the call. He finally got up from his bed and got in the shower. It had actually been a pretty good day. His outing with Johnny had been helpful, he had a successful day in the studio, and had plans with Ten that didn't interfere with practice. Maybe things would be alright.

       After shutting off the water and changing into some soft pajamas, he climbed into bed with a notebook and his phone.

                   _Out of the shower._

       Taeyong texted Ten before putting the phone down and writing down a couple phrases he had thought of in the shower. It only took Ten a few seconds to respond.

                    _So now what are you wearing?_

_:/ Is that all you think about?_

_Ever since we got interrupted last night. We never got to finish what we_ _started...and I really wanted you to finish._

       Taeyong could feel the heat in his cheeks move down to his lower abdomen. Johnny hadn't gotten home yet. He liked to run errands with the other members so he had some time alone.

                    _You did? What about you?_

       He was not much of a flirter, but he was starting to like where this was going. Taeyong got up and locked the door. There was not going to ever be a repeat of last night.

       Ten smiled at Taeyong's response. Maybe this night was going to get a little more interesting.

                    _Well I'm most interested in your well being. I'll be just fine._

_I don't think it would be wise to leave you hanging. You're already horny enough._

       Taeyong found to be slightly more comfortable texting this stuff. He felt like he was just writing and fell into his more confident persona he shows on stage.

                    _Hey. It's not my fault that you're attractive!_

       Taeyong was speechless. How could someone that he thought was the most confident and sexy people in the world find him attractive? It just still didn't make sense to him.

                    _I don't really know what to say to that._

       Ten thought it was ridiculous that Taeyong couldn't see what he saw. He was such a beautiful man and also the sweetest and most hardworking. He needed to show Taeyong what he has that is so irresistible to Ten.

                    _Maybe thank you? Or you could compliment me back you know? That would work too._

       Taeyong put the phone down for a minute and took a breath. Totally out of character, he jumps out of bed and checks his hair in the mirror quickly before grabbing his things and walking out the door.

       Ten sat there, waiting for a response. It had been a few minutes and he was starting to get slightly worried. Had he pushed Taeyong too far? He thought that he was just being cute, but maybe he misread the situation. He buries his head in his pillow and continues to wait for a little longer. Maybe he had just gone to the bathroom or Johnny had gotten home or something. This was nothing to worry about. After a moment, he hears a knock on the door. It was pretty late so he was confused as to who would be here. Ten tiptoes to the door and opens it a crack. He is quite stunned to see Taeyong standing in front of him, in the cutest fuzzy pajamas he had seen.

       "Surprised to see me?" Taeyong has a smile on his face, hoping this was okay to do.

       "Yes." Ten replies, baffled.

       "Well I wanted to thank you in person." Taeyong says, with his head down, but his eyes looking up. Ten can't help but grab Taeyong's wrist and pull him inside the bedroom so he could kiss the man in the fuzzy pajamas.

       Ten cupped Taeyong's cheeks in both hands and rose up on his toes to place his lips on Taeyong's. The kiss was soft and tender; lips coming together lightly. Ten wraps his arms around Taeyong's neck and gives him a tight hug.

       "Hi" Ten whispers into Taeyong's ear.

       "I didn't want to wait until Saturday to see you alone." Taeyong just said in response.

       "Me neither. I'm glad you're here."


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well only a few days ago did I realize that the fic was about to approach Christmas and real life was also close to Christmas so I've been quickly whipping up some cute holiday fluff. Here is the first installment of said fluff! Expect more over the next couple days :)

Wednesday morning he woke up to Taeyong shuffling around his room. "What are you doing, Taeyong?" Ten tried to lift his head up, but quickly dropped it back down after he realized how sore it was. 

"Oh you're up. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." Taeyong placed his hands on either side of Ten's head and pecked his cheek. "Your room is just so messy. I can't stand it. I was just neatening up a little." 

"It's not bad. There are just a few clothes lying around. I have a system. Clothes on the floor are clean enough to wear to dance, clothes on the chair are clean enough to wear in public. I don't want to put those clothes in the closet and if I put them in the hamper then I have to wash them. Where else am I supposed to put them?" Taeyong sighed. 

"You could at least keep them off the floor." 

"Yeah, I guess. What time is it?" Ten tries to reach for his phone, but can't seem to find it. 

"Around 7:30. Your phone is under the bed." Taeyong reads Ten's mind.

"How did it get there?" Ten's brain was still moving too slow to fully process things. 

"Well your bed is kind of small and there were two of trying to sleep in it. We probably just accidentally knocked it over." 

"Hmm well do you wanna get back in bed?" Ten grazes his fingertips along the muscles of Taeyong's arm. 

"I can't. I have an appointment this morning." Taeyong frowns, sad he can't spend the entire day in bed with the cuddly boy beside him. 

"I'll see you Saturday though?" 

"Of course. You leaving now?" 

"Yup." 

"Okay let me get up and I'll give you a proper goodbye." Ten scooted himself into a sitting position and swung his legs over the side of the mattress. Taeyong waited by the door as Ten stood up and walked to him. Ten reached up and kissed Taeyong on the cheek, then put his hands on either side of his waist and turned Taeyong around. "Go get ready for your appointment." Ten pushes Taeyong towards the door and winks at him when Taeyong looks back before finally leaving.

*

The week passed slowly for Ten. He only had his solo project and the duet with Taeyong to work on, unlike everyone else who were in the process of putting together multiple albums and learning a bunch of new dances. He wished he had more to do. Ten runs into Kun and asks him if he would like to go to lunch and grab some Christmas presents. "Oh shit, I totally need to do that too. I will definitely be joining you. Let me just drop something off and I will meet you outside?" Kun starts walking again and then turns back around. "Do you think we could bring Jungwoo along too? I think he has this afternoon free too." 

"Yeah, that sounds fun." Ten pressed the button for the elevator and shuffled his feet around while he waited for the doors to open. A few minutes later Kun and Jungwoo meet Ten downstairs. 

"Hey, Ten. Thanks for letting me come along." Jungwoo smiles sweetly.

"No problem. I'm just glad we're getting some food. Where do you want to go?" 

"What about that BBQ place that opened down the street a few weeks ago?" Kun suggested. 

"Sounds good. Let's go." Ten began walking down the street and the rest followed. As they walk, the three point out pretty holiday decorations that have popped up on the streets over the past few weeks. With their trip to Ukraine doubled with constantly being inside all the time, they had all momentarily forgotten Christmas was fast approaching.

They got to the restaurant and ordered their food. The three of them sat waiting for their dishes to come. "So how has your single been coming along?" Kun asks Ten. 

"Pretty good. I think we're about ready to start doing choreography which I'm excited about." 

"I'm so excited to see the end product!" Jungwoo says. 

"Have they given you any project to work on, Kun?" Ten takes a sip of his drink and turns his attention to Kun. 

"Unfortunately, no. They keep telling me they are getting something ready for me to do but then nothing ever happens. I'm getting antsy. Why would they debut me if they didn't have anything ready for me to debut in?" Kun was clearly frustrated, and had full right to be. He was in a weird situation. 

"Well let's hope they put you in something soon. Maybe we can work on some choreography together to keep busy?" Ten suggested. 

"Yeah, maybe. But I don't want to keep you from the other things you got going on." Kun always felt in the way. 

"Don't worry about that. We'll find the time." Ten smiled at Kun. Then the food arrived and they got busy eating. 

"Have you done anymore work on your duet with Taeyong?" Jungwoo asks between bites. Ten chokes a little when he hears Jungwoo's question, his mind flashing to the night before and a very serious round of kissing. 

"Uh, not much. But I think we're going to have a few more practices soon to prepare for the comeback stages." Ten tries to play it cool and stop thinking about Taeyong's lips on his neck. 

"I'm excited to see the music videos from our shoots. It sounded like you guys had some really cool scenes in BDS." Jungwoo continues, oblivious to Ten's difficulty swallowing. 

"Yeah me too. It should look cool." Ten responded, deciding maybe it was best to remain quiet the rest of the meal. Kun noticed Ten's strange response and wondering if there was a problem going on between Ten and Taeyong.

After their lunch they head to some shops to look around for ideas on what to get for their friends and family. "So who are you buying for?" Kun asks Ten. 

"I need to get something for Taeyong." Ten says, as he looks into the various shop windows. 

"You guys seem to have gotten pretty close lately." Kun remarks. 

"Well we have been working together a lot because of our duet and everything." Ten justifies. "Oh, look Jungwoo, there's a Snoopy." Ten points to a shop window full of stuffed animals. Jungwoo smiles and walks towards the shop. 

"Can we stop in here for a little?" Jungwoo asks. 

"Sure," Kun follows, but Ten stays behind. 

"I'm going to look in here while you guys do that." Ten points to another store down the way. Kun shrugs and goes into the shop with Jungwoo. He walks towards a small jewelry store and sees a display of bracelets in the window. An employee walks out from behind a counter and greets Ten. 

"Is there anything I can help you with?" The salesperson asks. 

"I saw your display in the window and I really liked these bracelets you have. Could I see them?" 

"Yes, of course." The salesperson motions for Ten to follow him to a glass display farther into the store and pulls out a tray of the bracelets Ten liked. "Is there any one in particular you would like to see?" The salesperson asks. Ten surveys the options and his eyes are drawn to a delicate chain that resembles tree branches. 

"That one." He points to one of the bracelets. The salesperson removes it from its purchase and hands it to Ten who holds it up closer to his eyes. Taeyong will like this, he thinks. "I would like to purchase this one." 

"Wonderful choice. I will ring that up for you." The salesperson places the sample bracelet back in the display and goes into the back room to get the bracelet. As Ten waits Kun and Jungwoo walk in. 

"Ah. We've finally found you. We were wondering where you had gone." 

"I just thought the bracelet display was pretty and thought it would make a good gift."

"Oh cool. Is it for Taeyong?" Kun asks.

"Yeah." Ten says. "We've been working so much together. I want to give him something special." Kun nods at this explanation and looks down at the display.

"Which one did you get him?" Ten points to the one he purchased. "That's really pretty I bet he'll really like it."

"Are you guys almost ready?" Jungwoo asks, standing closer to the door.

"Yeah, I just need to finish up the transaction." Ten looks to Jungwoo, who pouted back in boredom.

They all head out of the store and continue their shopping adventure. The three of them made out well, finding the majority of their gifts. Kun suggested they drop off their bags at the dorm before heading back to practice. The sky had transformed into a deep inky blue by the time they got back to the studios. Ten walked the hallways, looking for a free dance space to workshop some ideas. He hears some music pouring out of one of the studios, but no lights on. He decides to peak in to see who was in there. 

A speck of red shows through the small window of the door to the studio. Quickly following, the rest of Taeyong's form becomes visible. Taeyong had built up a sweat from dancing for awhile but had yet to tire. He wasn't practicing any particular choreography, just freestyling and trying moves he had seen other dances do. He loved just being able to dance. Not for any particular end goal or product, just to be able to move his body however he wanted without anyone trying to mold him into a marketable image. He had turned out the lights because he had a headache from staring at a computer screen for too long. The fluidity of the music and the muted tones of his surroundings helped his headache dissipate in a matter of minutes. Now he was just dancing in the dark. 

The song ends and he walks back to the stereo system to find another track that appealed to his mood. Taeyong freezes when he hears the creak of the door. His back is turned away from the door, but he knows that someone is in the room with him. 

"Can I request a song?" Ten asks, walking farther into the room. Taeyong turns his head to see Ten's figure. 

"What are you doing here?" Taeyong asks, surprised to see the other.

"Just looking for some free studio space. What about you?" Ten reaches the stereo and faces Taeyong. He wipes the sweat off his forehead with a towel and looks to Ten.

"I had a headache and I needed a break from producing." 

"Well how are you feeling now? You up for some more dancing?" Ten raises his eyebrows.

"I'm a bit better. Headache Is gone. I could go for a round." Taeyong hands the AUX cord to Ten. "Give us a song." Taeyong says in a very proper tone.

He walks to the center of the studio and runs both hands through his hair as he waits to hear Ten's selection. The opening notes of the song could barely be heard and it didn't get much louder. It was an experimental composition made of clinks and warbled synthesizes. A simple bass echoed throughout the studio. Ten made his way over to Taeyong. "Just let go." He told Taeyong. He knew that Taeyong had already been working in the studio for hours, but what he had done was hard-hitting and precise. Taeyong had not done much modern or improvisational dance, but Ten had and wanted to show this to Taeyong. 

Ten begins by cupping his hand around the side of Taeyong's head, prompting Taeyong to put his weight into it. They let that weight direct them towards the mirrors. Before they collide with the wall, Ten catches Taeyong by placing his body in front of the mirrors bent over. Taeyong lets himself fall onto Ten's back before rolling off and placing his finger ever so delicately under Ten's chin and bringing their eyes together. The two go on like that, always touching, always bearing each other's weight in some way. Whether that be their entire body or just a hand. The song seems to go on forever, but they don't mind. It doesn't feel like an effort to dance like this. Rather, Taeyong might compare it to walking on clouds. 

They end up curled into each other in a corner of the studio, no negative space between them. Neither of them want to break out of this space, but it has to be done.

"Would you come home for Christmas with me, Ten?" Taeyong asks. He had been debating for the past week whether or not to ask this of Ten. In the first place, Christmas had snuck up on him so quickly. The beginning of their December was in Ukraine and then the transition back to life in Korea seemed to eat up another week and then it was upon him. It was all coming so fast and Taeyong needed it to slow down. Slow down so he could parse out everything happening in his life. 

Ten didn't respond for a moment and this worried Taeyong. He was worried that it would be too much of a commitment. Not just a time commitment, but a commitment to their relationship. It would become something more if his invitation were to be accepted. However, Ten was not worried about this. He knew what his answer was going to be. He just wanted to sit in this moment for a little longer before responding. Sit in the deliciously sweet moment of having his partner ask him to come home for Christmas in the shadows of a dance studio filled with the sounds of a daydream. "I'd really like that." Taeyong breathed a sigh of relief and made the first movements of finally getting up. Ten caught a glimpse of Taeyong's face and saw the toothiest smile he had ever seen from Taeyong and had to hold back a laugh.

The two made their way back to the dorms at a late hour and said goodnight to each other before parting ways to sleep.

  
  



	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Christmas is over, but this chapter required more time than I was expecting. I hope you still enjoy it!

Saturday evening finally rolled around and Taeyong knocked on Ten's dorm room door. Ten opens the door with a smile. "Hey. Come on in." Ten motions for Taeyong to enter. Taeyong takes off his shoes and puts down his bag. "So. I was thinking we could make our Christmas plans, make out for a little, and get an early night's sleep so for tomorrow we have lots of energy." Ten suggests. Taeyong is a little surprised that Ten had created such a thorough plan for the evening, but appreciated that Ten had put in the effort. He had texted Ten the other day that they would be leaving Sunday morning for Christmas with his family and so they had been packing that afternoon.

"That sounds really nice." Taeyong replies, giving Ten a big hug. They sit down on the bed and Taeyong breaks down the plans for the break. He fills Ten in on all the Christmas traditions and who will be there and the activities they will be participating in. When Taeyong had called his mother to let him know he would be bringing a friend home, she was a little surprised but excited to meet a member of her son's group. Her son was always too busy to talk or visit, so this was one of the few times a year she got to really spend with him even though they both lived in Seoul.

Ten listened attentively to all the things Taeyong said. He really wanted to make a good impression on these people. No matter their relationship, they would always be apart of each other's lives in some way and it was very important to Ten that he was a positive presence for Taeyong. Taeyong pauses for a moment, but Ten doesn't realize as he was having this thought.

"What? Is something wrong? Am I boring you?" Taeyong asks, concerned. Ten makes eye contact with Taeyong and places his hand on Taeyong's arm.

"No, no. I was just processing everything. I want to make a good impression." Ten explains. This makes Taeyong smile.

"You are such a people person. I bet they will love you no matter what you do." Taeyong says, planting a kiss on Ten's cheek. Hearing these types of comments made Taeyong more confident with where he stood with Ten, and therefore more confident in giving affection first.

After Taeyong had finished and Ten had asked a couple questions, they put on a short episode of something and relaxed into the bed. It was so nice to just kick back and feel totally secure cuddling with Ten. When the episode ended, Ten put his laptop away and they climbed between the sheets in their pajamas. Ten's pant leg had rolled up to expose his smooth leg and Taeyong brushed his foot against it.

"Oh my god. Your legs are so smooth." Taeyong reaches down and feels Ten's legs with his hand.

"You're so weird Taeyong. It's just my leg." Ten laughs as Taeyong innocently feels him up. "There are better things to get excited about."

"Like what?" Taeyong had laid back down.

"Like this." Ten reaches over and bites Taeyong's neck lightly and then kisses the reddening area. Taeyong wasn't quite sure how he felt about this. The idea of getting bitten never sounded particularly appealing to him, but at the same time he felt himself become slightly aroused. Ten pulls back to observe Taeyong's expression. He can't quite read it. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, I don't think so. I just wasn't expecting to like being bitten, but I think maybe I do?" Taeyong responds in a somewhat questioning manner.

"Would you like me to not do it again? Because that would be totally fine. I always want to make sure whatever we do feels good."

"No. I want you to keep doing it. If I decide I don't like it, I'll let you know." Taeyong reassures Ten.

"Okay, then. We'll just have to test it out some more then." Ten moves towards Taeyong's neck again.

"No, you've had your turn." Taeyong stops Ten in his path and moves on top of him.

"Woah there." Ten exclaims in surprise, smiling up at the beautiful man above him. Taeyong starts by nibbling at Ten's ear and then sucking along his neck down to his collarbone. As he moves down, he slips his hand under Ten's shirt and pulls it up, giving himself access to Ten's nipples. Once he has finished up at Ten's collarbone, he drags his tongue to Ten's now perked up nipple.

He looks up for a moment before proceeding and sees Ten has closed his eyes and rested his head comfortably back onto his pillow. Taeyong turns his attention back to Ten's nipple, takes it between his teeth and lightly flicks at it with his tongue, teasing Ten. He does the same to the other before finally placing his lips down and sucking. Ten hisses at this action. "Fuck," was all he could get out.

While this was not the most sensitive part of his body, Ten had a strong reaction to Taeyong's motions. It felt so good to have the weight of Taeyong's body on top of him and to have just a slight sensation. While he absolutely loved having sex and the feeling of it, it was honestly a lot of work and not something he always wanted to do. Especially if he couldn't put the amount of effort into it he wanted to. What was going on between the two of them at the moment was perfect. It was the right mixture of security, affection, and eroticism.

Taeyong was having fun playing around on Ten's body. To see what made him hitch his breath and release it. He could probably do this for hours, but the two of them needed to sleep and he wasn't sure how he could face his family after having had sex the night before. He climbs back up to match his face to Ten's and gives one last long kiss, tongues playing with each other and lips reddening from the duration. At last, they break away from each other and lay side by side to fall asleep. It was good how small Ten was and how cuddly Taeyong was or else they would be very uncomfortable on the small bed.

 

The next morning the two are woken by the alarm. It was Christmas Eve, but the dorms were still buzzing because a lot of the members didn’t live close enough to go home for the short break. Ten hops out of bed quickly, unable to linger with the thought of today's events on his mind. Taeyong, on the other hand, takes more time to stretch and wake up before climbing out of bed. "I'm going to go to the bathroom." Taeyong walks out the door and into the hallway. Unable to process things quickly enough, he forgets that he stayed in Ten's dorm and is confused when he runs into Renjun. "What are you doing here?" He asks.

"I should be asking what you're doing here." Renjun counters, looking at Taeyong and back to Ten's cracked door behind him. After a moment more, Taeyong realizes where he is and freezes up. Ten must have heard the conversation as he appears behind Taeyong.

"We were working on some stuff for our duet and fell asleep." Ten answers smoothly. Taeyong begins to unfreeze.

"Yes. We didn't see any point in moving since it was already so late." Taeyong adds.

"Okay." Renjun shrugs, frowning his eyebrows, and walks past the couple to reach his own room. 

"Why don't you go to the bathroom now?" Ten suggests, motioning toward the room off the end of the hallway. Taeyong enters the bathroom and takes a moment to assess the situation that just happened. They were being far too sloppy. He shouldn't have let himself become so relaxed. If there was any chance of continuing this relationship in private, he would really start having to come up with straight up lies. Taeyong got cleaned up and headed back to Ten's room to pack up the rest of his stuff. His parents were going to come pick them up soon.

"You alright?" Ten asks when Taeyong closes the door to his room.

"Yeah. I just didn't think. I forgot I wasn't in my dorm." Taeyong goes to sit on the bed. His parents texted him a few minutes ago to let him know they would be leaving soon.

They meet Taeyong's parents outside of the building and put their luggage in the car. He gives a hug to both his parents and then they all turn their attention to Ten. "Mom, Dad. This is Ten. He's the one I'm working on the duet with. I thought it would be nice to spend Christmas together." Taeyong motions for Ten to come forward, who had been hanging back during the initial hello's. 

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Lee. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate the invitation. Taeyong has told me all about your Christmas traditions." Ten gives a slight bow to the two of them, radiating poise.  Taeyong observes the interaction carefully. He wanted all to go well and for his parents to like Ten. His mother reaches her arms out towards Ten and brings him in for a hug.

"Oh, it is wonderful to have you. I am glad you were able to join us. Taeyong seemed quite excited when he asked about it." Mrs. Lee was so glad when she met one of Taeyong's friends because growing up he had some issues. It was a comforting sign when his friends followed through with their promises.

Ten looked out the window, he had lived in Seoul for a few years but had never really explored the more residential areas. It was also very intriguing to him to see where Taeyong spent the majority of his life. Taeyong's parents were updating him on recent changes they made to the house while they drove along. Apparently they had done some cleaning and renovation when Taeyong moved out and it had finally been completed.

It did not take very long before the car slowed and turned into a spot, having arrived at the house. They all climbed out and Taeyong's dad opened the trunk to get out their suitcases.

"Oh I can get those." Ten runs over to Taeyong's dad and grabs the suitcases in one go.

"Thank you, Ten." Taeyong's dad nods to Ten and closes the trunk. Taeyong's mom unlocks the house and they all go in.

"I set up your old room with an extra mattress for Ten to sleep on. I'm sorry we don't have another room available, but Taeyong's sister is staying with us as well. 

"That's no problem. I really don't mind staying with Taeyong." Ten says, looking to Taeyong who had gotten awfully quiet.

"Come on. I can show you our room." Taeyong walks up the stairs and into a room at the end of the hall. Ten puts the suitcases down on the floor and takes a look around. While it was clearly clean, there was a layer of dust on almost every piece of furniture. Bookshelves were filled with old novels, comics, and textbooks. The walls were mostly barren except for near the desk which had a couple posters up. It was clearly the room of a child that had moved out, but not entirely and still needed the ability to come back home.

Taeyong closes the door and opens his suitcase. "I'm gonna go clean up a bit if that's alright?" Taeyong pulled out his toothbrush and face wash.

"Yeah, that's alright. I'll just be in here." Ten replies. When Taeyong leaves the room he pulls out an old yearbook from a bookshelf and flips through it trying to find Taeyong. It takes him a few minutes, but he finally finds his photo. Of course, Taeyong looked beautiful even then. As Ten stares at the photo, he wonders what Taeyong had been like when he was younger. He knew that Taeyong had changed a lot since joining SM and wished he could have met him before that. Wished he could have seen his room when it was fully decked out in Taeyong's taste. In the dorm he tends to not decorate too much. There wasn't much room and there is always the possibility of having to move. Taeyong had always figured he would rarely be in his room anyway, so what was the point?

Taeyong returns from the bathroom and sees Ten looking at the yearbook. "Where did you find that?" Taeyong walks over to where Ten was standing and grabs the book.

"It was just on this shelf." Ten points to where it had been stored.

"I told my my mom to put these away." Taeyong puts the book back on the shelf. "Middle school was hard. I don't need a reminder of it," he explains.

Ten nods, "I understand." He doesn't want to push the topic. He needed this break to go well. "So what are the plans for the rest of the day?"

"Well it’s Christmas Eve tonight so I’ll be helping my mom cook for the dinner tonight. Then we have presents and breakfast tomorrow."

They hang out in Taeyong's room for a little while longer when they hear a knock on the door. Taeyong's mom cracks the door and peeks her head in to find the two boys sitting on Taeyong's bed.

"I just wanted to bring you the makings for Ten's bed and see how you are doing. You are awfully quiet up here." His mom walks in and sets a mattress and some blankets and sheets down on the edge of the bed.

"I was just showing Ten around my room. When is the dinner tonight?" Taeyong asks her.

"We were aiming around 6:30. Of course I will need your help with some of the cooking." Taeyong's mom smiles towards Ten. "Is there anything you like to do that would make you feel more at home for Christmas?" Ten is somewhat surprised that this question is asked of him.

"No, I'm just happy to be here and to be able to experience your traditions." Ten responds, ever the perfect house guest.

"Okay, well I guess I will leave you two alone then. Don't be afraid to come downstairs or ask me or your father for anything." She exits the room and putters down the stairs.

"Your mom is so nice." Ten says to Taeyong.

"She's usually pretty nice to my friends. I don't usually bring that many guests over." Taeyong replies. He grabs the mattress his mother brought and prepares it for Ten.

"Are you going to be alright while I’m cooking this afternoon?" Taeyong asks.

"Yeah. I'm looking forward to making hot chef comments while you make sexy moves in the kitchen." Ten says flirtatiously. Taeyong's eyes widen and he turns his head to meet Ten.

"You can't do that. My mom will be right there in the room!" Ten gives a little giggle.

"I was just joking silly. I will keep my flirtatious comments limited to the bedroom. Don't worry." Ten reaches over to give Taeyong a pat. "However, I will be making those comments in my head while I keep you company in the kitchen when I can." He turns to lay onto his back. "If your dad needs help with things I would be glad to do that too." He adds. Taeyong smiles at how considerate and thoughtful his boyfriend is.

"That would be very nice of you. I bet he would appreciate the offer even if you didn't end up doing anything. Now I don’t want to leave my mom alone with all the cooking any longer." Taeyong grabs a couple things and walks to the door, leaving Ten to organize his things.

Taeyong had been busying himself in the kitchen for about an hour when Ten decides to go see what he was up to.

Ten walks into the kitchen and sees Taeyong at the counter chopping something while wearing a cute little frilly apron he must have borrowed from his mother. Taeyong was buzzing around the kitchen, cooking up a storm. It didn't matter the kitchen or the occasion, Taeyong would always be the cook that cared for the people around him and it was one of the biggest attractions in Ten's eyes. "Oh hey Ten! You want me to make you something? Dinner isn’t going to be awhile and we didn’t really have much food today." Taeyong asks. Ten walks over to Taeyong and gives a peck on his cheek.

"No, I'm alright. I'll just have some cereal or something to tide me over if that's alright."

"Okay. There should be some in the pantry." Taeyong points to a small closet to his left.

"So what are we to your parents?" Ten asks as he grabs the makings for his cereal.

"Friends. I'm sorry. I don't think I could tell them more right now if that's okay." Taeyong responds honestly. 

"No, that's alright. I understand. I'm just glad I can spend Christmas with you." He gives Taeyong a back hug. "Plus it's way more fun to tease you when we're a secret." At that moment however, Taeyong's mother enters the kitchen.

"Oh hey mom. Ten was just grabbing some breakfast." Taeyong tries to play off the situation she just walked in on. She looks at the two a little strangely, but shakes her head after a moment.

"That's fine. I was just coming in to pop some things into the oven. How are you doing with your dishes?" She looks over what Taeyong was preparing.

"It's going pretty well. Can you come look at this though? Do you think it needs more mixing?" Ten sits down at the table and watches the mother and son dart around the kitchen, asking each other for advice and debating oven temperatures. He saw the same habits in Taeyong as in his mother and it made him chuckle. It was always fascinating to see where someone got all of their characteristics.

 

Evening rolled around and Ten and Taeyong were in his room getting ready. "Is this alright to wear?" Ten holds up a pants and shirt combo for Taeyong to approve.

"Yeah that looks good. We get dressed up, but not too dressed up." Ten begins to change into his outfit, feeling slightly nervous about the dinner. He had talked to Taeyong's parents a little, but it had all been small talk and nothing really about him or his relationship with Taeyong.

Taeyong walks out of the room and into the bathroom. When he returns he is all ready with hair styled and clothing fastened. "How do I look?" He gives Ten a little turn to give a full view of his outfit.

"Wow. I'm dating hot stuff." Taeyong giggles and walks over to Ten to give him a kiss. He was planning on a simple peck, but Ten continues to hold him close and deepens the kiss. Taeyong tries to get out a word, but Ten just takes the opportunity to slip his tongue in Taeyong's mouth. Taeyong's knees grow weak and he leans into Ten. A few moments later they break apart.

"Are you trying to make me forget about dinner?" Taeyong asks.

"A little," Ten pouts. "Is it working?"

"Quite well yes, but if we didn't come down they would come up and ask what we were doing." Ten smiles at this. 

"Well we would certainly be doing something worth our while." Taeyong pushes Ten away with a nervous, high-pitched laugh.

"Go get dressed, silly. We can do that later." Taeyong leaves the room to go check on a dish in the oven.

Guests start arriving within the next few minutes. His sister and her boyfriend come first. She runs over to Taeyong and gives him a gigantic hug.

"Oh I missed you so much! You need to come visit me more often." She plants a kiss on his cheek and steps back. "Mom told me you brought a friend with you? Who is it?" She has a devilish glint in her eye as she asks this question.

"One of my group-mates Ten. We're doing a duet together. I thought he would like to not travel too far for Christmas. He's from Thailand." At that moment, Ten walks down the stairs. "Here he is now. Ten-ah, come here and meet my sister." Taeyong waves him over.

"Hello, Ten. It's so nice to meet you. Taeyong never brings friends home, so you must be extra special." Taeyong, of course, starts blushing at this.

"Aw, well I'm glad to be here and get to spend Christmas with you. Taeyong's never said much about his home life." Ten reaches to shake Taeyong's sister's hand, but she instead brings him in for a hug.

Taeyong's parents entered the room. "Wow, you two look so nice." Taeyong's mom commented. "You have such a nice style, Ten."

"Thank you. I have fun shopping for clothes." Ten thanked her.

"Is the food almost ready?" Taeyong's dad appeared quite ready for the eating to begin.

"Almost, but you have to wait for the rest of the guests to arrive." Taeyong’s mom chides her husband and shoos him out of the kitchen before he starts sneaking bites.

Taeyong’s aunts, uncles, cousins, and family friends start to arrive. The Lee house seems to be a big attraction due to the quality food Taeyong and his mom provides. Taeyong’s father mans the bar and everyone has drinks in hand. Taeyong is hospitable, playing the perfect host. He appreciates that being a host allows him to constantly remain busy. If someone he didn’t want to talk to tries to strike up a conversation with him, he simply said he had to do something in the kitchen and went off to the kitchen and took a big swig of champagne. He tried to be there for Ten, but it felt like Ten was more there for him. Ten knew how to be social. He knew how to navigate uncomfortable, prying questions.

When the dinner portion of the evening begins, Taeyong watches as his family proceeds with the standard interview given by every family meeting a new friend. Taeyong sat amazed at how Ten was able to respond to every question perfectly and with a smile. He was very well aware that Ten was a charmer, but it was somewhat strange to see him in action in this particular situation.

“What is the concept of your new song with Ten, Taeyong?” Taeyong’s aunt asks him. Taeyong had just took a big bite of beef and was having trouble chewing when this question was posed to him and begins to choke a little. Ten, sitting next to him, places his hand on the other’s back and provides. “It’s a very cool concept. We filmed it in Ukraine!” The rest of the table nods in interest at this and Ten continues to talk about the experience. Taeyong finally manages to get his food down and downs a glass of wine. He had lost count of how much alcohol he had drunk. He was becoming a little careless, hence the problem chewing.

They finally reach dessert and Ten notices Taeyong’s hands shaking as he tries to clear dishes. “Here, let me take that. Why don’t you just sit down. Would you like some cake?” Ten takes the dishes from Taeyong’s hand and pushes him back into his seat. It is a sign that Taeyong was quite tipsy by the fact that he doesn’t argue. Ten walks to the kitchen and puts the dishes in the sink. There was quite a pile that they would need to clean up later. He goes to the dessert table and puts together a plate for both him and Taeyong. Mrs. Lee had really outdone herself on the desserts. There were numerous types of pie, cake, and cookies. Everyone was excited to pick out their desserts for the evening.

“How does this look?” Ten returns to find Taeyong nodding off slightly from a combination of food and alcohol. He perks up at the site of the sweets in Ten’s hands.

“Yum.” Taeyong proceeds to scarf down a piece of cake. Ten decides this would be a good time to help clean up the kitchen while Taeyong was distracted. Mrs. Lee is already scrubbing away at dishes when he enters the kitchen.

“Oh, Ten. What are you doing in here?” Mrs. Lee tries to push her sleeves up by rubbing her forearms against her sides.

“I thought I would help you get a head start on these dishes. I’m not quite ready to eat my dessert yet.” Ten begins to sort through the pile of dishes, handing her the plates and setting the flatware in the soapy water.

“That’s very sweet of you, but you should be enjoying yourself.”

“No, I really don’t mind.” Ten flashes his beautiful smile to her.

“Well thank you. I appreciate it.” They continue on with a light chatter about how all the dishes turned out that evening.

Once the dishwasher is filled, Ten checks back up on Taeyong, who had finished his dessert and was perking back up slightly.

"Where did you go?" Taeyong gives Ten a look of abandonment and Ten realizes how long he had been in the kitchen.

"I was helping your mom do dishes. Have you talked to anyone here?" Ten motions to the rest of the group. There were a few still remaining at the dinner table, while others had transitioned to the living room for an after-dinner drink.

"No. I was waiting for you." The alcohol had made Taeyong needy and Ten was not totally sure to do in this situation. Was it okay for his parents to see their son like this? Does his family expect him to talk to them? What was the protocol?

Just as Ten was experiencing this mini-crisis, Taeyong’s sister swoops in. “Here, why don’t you two come join us in the den.” She drags the two of them to a small room with a tv and well-loved couch. It appears that this was the young people hang out. Taeyong’s sister and her boyfriend was there as well as Taeyong’s 15 year old cousin. Taeyong was holding onto Ten’s arm for dear life and refuses to let go as they squish onto the couch.

The two are quiet and close as Ten tries to catch up on the conversation. Taeyong’s cousin seemed to be in a deep conversation with his sister’s boyfriend over why Overwatch is actually a good video game. Ten tunes out. He has really never been very interested in video games. Instead he turns his attention to Taeyong, who was fiddling with the fringe of a throw pillow.

“Hey. Are you doing better now?” He pinches Taeyong’s arm. Taeyong turns his head to Taeyong slowly.

“Yeah. I want to cuddle you though.” Taeyong tries to get Ten to put his arms around him. Taeyong’s sister, who was listening to the Overwatch debate, changes her attention to Taeyong with a sigh.

“How much did he drink?” She asks.

“I’m not sure. Must have been a couple glasses at least. He doesn’t drink that much at the dorm.” Ten attempts to untangle himself from Taeyong.

“Hmm. Well he probably won’t be better until tomorrow morning. Why don’t you take him upstairs to sleep. I can cover for you guys with the rest of the clan.” Ten follows her advice and sneaks Taeyong back into their room.

As soon as they close the door, Taeyong is all over Ten. He begins unbuttoning Ten's shirt and reaching down to kiss his neck. He starts to trip a little as he moves backwards as he does this. Ten tries to catch him, but fails, and they both topple onto the bed.

"I have to admit, I love you like this, but we really shouldn't do anything tonight." Ten tries to restrain himself.

"But I want to." Taeyong looks up at Ten and pouts.

"But we're at your parents house and you've drunk too much. Plus fucking on Christmas Eve is probably sin." Ten jokes. Taeyong simply continues to unbutton Ten's shirt and then moves to his pants. Taeyong is unexpectedly strong in his current state and is able to drag Ten up to the head of the bed and set him down under him. Ten has trouble remaining logical when Taeyong latches his mouth onto his neck and starts sucking marks into his neck. After a few moments, Taeyong seems to slow and Ten is able to slide Taeyong off him and onto the bed. "Here. It's time to get ready for bed. Can I get you changed into pajamas." Taeyong begins to get very sleepy very quickly and simply nods.

Ten undresses Taeyong carefully until he is just in his underwear. He then finds his pajamas, which were laid neatly in his suitcase and with delicate motions redresses a half asleep Taeyong. By the time Taeyong is dressed, he is more than half asleep and Ten tucks his tired partner into the sheets and kisses him goodnight before preparing for bed himself.

The next morning Taeyong opens his eyes to a bright light streaming in from the window. He has a slight hangover from overdoing it slightly on drinks at the party. He looks down beside him to see Ten still sleeping soundly. Taeyong notices dark bruises on Ten's neck and the night before comes back to him. He falls back onto his pillows, his hand covering his eyes as he remembers how obnoxious and needy he had been. This was why he tried not to ever drink too much. It would be such an ordeal trying to hide Ten's hickies. He must apologize to Ten when he woke up.

Taeyong decides to head to the bathroom to clean up a little before waking Ten up. They were not supposed to go downstairs Christmas morning before they were told so he was careful not to look down into the living room. They were all too old to believe in Santa, but it was still a fun surprise every year to see the setup his father prepared.

When he got back to his room, Ten was stirring. When Taeyong returned to his bed Ten opened his eyes. "Morning. How are you feeling?" He asked Taeyong.

"I'm sorry about last night. I should have been watching how much I was drinking." Taeyong looked to Ten apologetically.

"No, it was alright. You were very sweet and I don't think your parents noticed it too much." Ten gave Taeyong a loving smile. "I do prefer to get undressed by a more sober Taeyong, however."

"I'll make a mental note of that." Taeyong jokes back. "I would rather that anyway. I am not appreciating my current headache."

"Well we can take it nice and easy today." Ten climbed out of bed. "So can we go downstairs yet?"

Taeyong shakes his head. "Nope. We have to wait for my mom to give us the okay."

"Welp. Can I get in your bed then?" Ten is catlike in the way he crawls up to Taeyong.

"I guess that's okay." Taeyong tries to play it cool, but on the inside is incredibly excited.

Ten gets under the sheets and rests his head against Taeyong's chest. The two were very warm and snuggly when there was suddenly a knock on the door. Ten rolls off the bed with a thunk and Taeyong looks down to make sure Ten is okay. Ten begins to laugh uncontrollably.

"Did I walk into something funny?" Taeyong's sister asks.

Taeyong is unable to speak for a few moments. His eyes flick between Ten and his sister and back at Ten, his expression begging for help.

"No, I was just annoying Taeyong." Ten sits up from the other side of the bed. She raises her eyebrows.

"Well mom wants us to come down for presents now." She walks out into the hall, not waiting for them to follow her.

"Come on, let's go." Taeyong throws the covers off the bed and grabs Ten. They both make their way downstairs and find a spot on the couch. Taeyong's sister is already sitting in a chair, a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Finally. I've been waiting forever for you two. Mom, Dad. Taeyong and Ten are in the living room now. Can we start?" Taeyong's parents make their way into the living room from the kitchen, their own coffee cups in hand.

"Let's get started." Taeyong's dad begins to hand out the presents that had been piling in the corner of the living room over the past few days. They all dive into unwrapping their presents. Ten enjoyed watching Taeyong get excited by various new cooking tools from his mom and clothes from his sister. Ten didn't have as many presents to open, but didn't mind. He simply enjoyed taking in every cute reaction from Taeyong.

Taeyong had finished unwrapping most of his presents and was checking over his pile. "I'm just going to go upstairs to get something." Ten takes the stairs two at a time and goes into the room he shares with Taeyong. He had stored his present to Taeyong at the bottom of his suitcase. He was worried that Taeyong would run across it before this morning. Ten rushes back down the stairs and returns to his seat. Taeyong and his family were talking amongst themselves.

"Here. This is for you." Ten hands Taeyong the wrapped parcel. Taeyong takes off the tape with care, unwrapping the box without tearing the paper. Ten waits on the edge of his seat, nervous that Taeyong might not like the bracelet he had purchased.

Taeyong opens the box and his eyes widen. The bracelet sits delicately on a cushion, the metal sparkling from the Christmas lights hung around the room. He picks it up looks at the details more closely. He had never had a piece of jewelry like it. "This is beautiful Ten. I can't believe you got me something!" Taeyong looks to Ten, love in his eyes.

Ten rolls his eyes. "Of course I got you something!"

"Can you help me put it on?" Taeyong sticks his wrist out toward Ten with the bracelet in his hand. Ten carefully undoes the clasp and moves Taeyong's wrist to his lap so he can steady Taeyong's shaking. Ten's nimble fingers brush Taeyong's skin and the two can feel sparks between them.

"There!" Ten is victorious in getting the bracelet on Taeyong and it looks even better than in the case on his dainty wrist.

"Can I see what you got?" Taeyong's mom asks. The two had forgotten Taeyong's family had been observing the interaction and Taeyong becomes a little shy.

"A bracelet. It's really pretty, isn't it?" Taeyong flashes the bracelet in his mother's direction.

"Wow, that's gorgeous." Taeyong's sister comments.

"Here. Open mine now." Taeyong brings a present to Ten. Ten, unlike Taeyong, is quick to unwrap the box. He shakes the lid open and pushes tissue paper aside. Taeyong had bought this present a while ago. He had seen it one day while shopping and automatically bought it.

"Aw this is beautiful Taeyong!" Ten holds up a soft sweater. The knit made of a bulky yarn that gave the garment extra squish. It was a silvery gray, a sparkly yarn had been knitted in with the regular. Taeyong smiles. He was so relieved that Ten had liked it. Ten was such a fashionista, he was a little worried about giving him clothes, but he had also been worried about giving him something like jewelry. "I'm gonna put it on right now." Ten pulls it over his head, which messes up his hair slightly in the process. In the sweater, Ten looks even smaller, like a tiny ball of coziness. Taeyong wished his family wasn't there so he could indulge himself in a cuddle.

"It looks very good on you." Taeyong's mom offers. "Taeyong always has good taste in presents." Taeyong can't stop smiling as he clears the clutter from the living room floor.

Taeyong’s father had prepared a simple breakfast for all of them to enjoy while decked out in their new items. Taeyong smiles at Ten, admiring how he looked like an angel in the sweater he got him. That moment is quickly turned sour when he sees a dark mark on Ten’s neck. Moments from the night before flash in the back of his mind. One specific scene of Taeyong sucking deeply into Ten’s neck causes him to bite his tongue. That must have left a mark.

Taeyong attempts to casually direct Ten’s attention to his neck to try and cover it up, but he just looks like he has a really bad itch on his own neck.

“Did you get a bug bite, Taeyong?” his mother asks. Taeyong grows a little pink and mutters a quick no, going back to his food. His sister on the other hand seemed to have made sense of the interaction and looks to Ten’s neck. Her eyes widen and she can’t help but dart her gaze between the two members.

When breakfast is complete and everyone is cleaning up, she pulls Taeyong aside. “Why is there a hickey on Ten’s neck?” She cuts to the chase. Taeyong begins numerous attempts at an explanation, but cuts himself off, knowing that none would suffice. “I didn’t see it yesterday and I don’t think there was anyone else in your room last night.” She continues, knowing that she has him in a corner.

“Well. He is sort of more than a friend.” Taeyong finally lets out.

“Hah. I knew it. I knew you wouldn’t just bring a friend to Christmas. You’re gonna need to be more careful if you really want to pull this off.” Taeyong’s sister points out, a hint of glee in her eye.

Taeyong bows his head. “Yeah I know. It’s pretty new and we’re still figuring out that stuff. Please don’t tell anyone.” He begs.

“Of course I’m not going to tell anyone. I won’t need to. You do it yourself by how you look at each other. However, I expect updates on this from now on.”

“Alright, alright.” Taeyong tries to leave, but she grabs ahold of his arm.

“I’m serious, okay. I want to make sure you are alright.” Taeyong just nods and shakes her off his arm. People are mostly done in the kitchen now and off doing their own things. He finds Ten in their room, packing up his things.

“We have to go back to the dorms this afternoon.” Ten looks to Taeyong and realizes that something is off. “What’s wrong?”

“My sister figured it out.” Taeyong lays face first into his pillow.

“Ah.” Ten sits down next to Taeyong. “Is she cool?”

“Yeah, but that just proves how obvious we are. Who else must know then?” Taeyong says, his worries getting muffled by the pillow.

“She’s known you since you were little. She’s bound to be able to figure something like that out. Others won’t be able to pick it up so quick. Why don’t we worry about this later? We don’t want to ruin the rest of Christmas do we?” Taeyong turns over and looks up at Ten.

“I guess you’re right. When do we need to head back?”

“The manager texted us that by 2pm would be best.” Taeyong sits up at that.

“It’s already noon!” He is no longer thinking about his discussion with his sister and is instead focused on packing up. “Let’s get packed by within the hour and then we’ll be able to head off with plenty of travel time.” Taeyong makes a plan and feels the situation is much more manageable.

The two are packed and ready to get picked up in a car sent by the company. They are ladened with leftover food that Taeyong’s mom had insisted they bring back as well as their collection of gifts from that morning.

“I’m going to miss you so much.” Taeyong’s mom gives Taeyong a tight hug, tears welling up in her eyes.

“I’ll call when I can.” He consoles her.

“And you Ten. Thank you for coming. It was double the fun with you here.” She offers Ten a hug and he accepts.

Goodbyes continue until the car pulls up and the two climb in. Taeyong’s family waves as the car drives off into the streets.

“Well. It’s time to go back to work.” Taeyong sighs, both happy and sad to be leaving home. Ten takes Taeyong’s hand and gives him a comforting squeeze communicating that he understands the sentiment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was preparing to write a chapter on one of their vlives and I totally forgot they had done a vlive in Ukraine that marked their trip to be January 19. I apologize for the inaccuracy, but I still like the Christmas chapter so I am going to leave it up. However, for the next chapter I am going to pick the story back up in early February to stay with the timeline. Just treat the Christmas storyline like an extra bonus of fluff. Sorry for confusion and I might try to add approximate dates to each chapter to make everything line up a bit better.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I come to you with a bit of fluff and a sick Taeyong.

The long month of January was finally over and it was February. It was getting close to comeback time and Taeyong started to feel poorly. His joints ached and his face was hot while the rest of him shivered. However, he could not miss practice. There was too much riding on him, so he tumbled out of bed and headed to the studio.

All the members were sitting in various parts of the studio, stretching their muscles in preparation for a long day of dancing. Taeyong chose a vacant corner and remained bundled in his puffy jacket and sweatshirt. He had to muster up as much energy as possible to lead the first part of practice in a few minutes. Stretching felt horrible to him. Everything was tight and unyielding no matter how much he tried to warm himself up. Knowing that nothing would make him feel ready to dance, he got up with a huff and corralled the group.

"Okay, everyone. We have a lot of work to do. Our album will be coming out in a couple months and we need to have all of our stages ready to perform. To warm up, let’s review some pieces we already know. How about  _ Boss _ first? If you're not in this one, you know what to do." Taeyong went over to the music and began the song before rushing back to his place in the formation. He barely managed to make it through the first run through. About 30 seconds in his head started pounding, but he did his best to ignore it. Luckily, for this run he only had to mark. However, it was unlucky that this was the easiest it was going to get. Taeyong made it through the routine and went to turn off the music. Only a few more hours he told himself.

Lunchtime had just passed and the whole group was there to start learning Black on Black. It was a bigger task to learn this choreography due to the fact that it was the entirety of NCT 2018. They began by blocking the opening sequence and throwing in some phrases here and there. Taeyong had not been able to get anything down during their lunch break and was running on an empty stomach. He wasn't even sure the last time he had taken a sip of water. The headache he felt earlier was making it difficult for him to keep his balance.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jaehyun asks, standing next to him.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Just a little headache." Taeyong tries to brush it off as nothing, but fails entirely when he collapses to the floor moments after. He can't tell what's happening. One moment he was standing there, the next he was on the floor. Sweat seeped through his shirt and dampened his brow. He struggles to open his eyes, but has a lot of difficulty, the fluorescent lights in the studio too bright.

Taeyong feels his head propped up into someone's lap and the brightness go down. He can tell that Ten is near him by the scent of his soap. He manages to open his eyes for a moment and sees a concerned expression on the younger's face.

"Hey, we need to get you home. You shouldn't have come to rehearsal if you were feeling bad." Ten says to Taeyong. He then turns his attention to the others. "Can you help me get him to the car. I'm gonna take him to the dorm." The rest of the members help Ten collect Taeyong and their stuff and get him to the car where they drive to the dormitory. From there, a manager helps Ten get him into his room. "I can take it from here." Ten tells the manager. The manager seems unwilling to leave, but obeys after reading the look in Ten's eyes.

Ten proceeds to lay Taeyong down on his bed and undress him. He runs to the bathroom to wet a cloth and does the best to clean Taeyong up before redressing him in his comfiest pajamas. Taeyong is quite incoherent throughout the entire process, wanting to be of more help, but failing to even hold up his own body weight.

"Just relax. I'm going to take care of you." Ten pushes Taeyong back down for each of these attempts. "Here, let me take your temperature." Ten shoves a thermometer in Taeyong's mouth and waits for the results. "Shit! You're at 102 degrees! Why did you even come to rehearsal!" Ten shakes his head at his boyfriend.

"I thought I could make it through. We lose so much when just one of us is missing. It would be unfair of me to skip." Taeyong whimpered out.

"Well we're gonna make sure you get all better before you're back in that studio. They will do just fine without you." Ten went back into the bathroom to clean off the thermometer and get some medicine for Taeyong's fever. He returns to Taeyong's room with a few pills in hand and a glass of water.

"Take these. I'm going to make you some tea as well. Have you had any food today?" Taeyong takes the pills and swallows them down, shaking his head in response to the food question. He wished he didn't have to be nursed like this. He should be doing the nursing. He was also not used to seeing Ten in this motherly mode. To be perfectly honest, he didn't know that it existed.

"Okay. Well does anything in particular sound edible? Maybe a banana or toast?" Taeyong can barely stand the thought of food, but know that he needs to get something down for there to be any chance of him getting better.

"I could maybe try some melon?" Taeyong responds in a questioning tone because he really doesn't know if he will be able to get it down. Ten darts to the kitchen and gets the water heating before searching for a melon in their refrigerator. He was unfamiliar with the 127 kitchen. It was so neat compared to the Dream one. Ten was not puzzled by this observation, however. He appreciated that the stovetop and floor was not covered in speckles of grease or the fridge stuffed with expired food. He ran across a spare melon in the produce drawer and proceeded to find a cutting board and knife. Ten stared the melon down. Fruits were from some alien planet in Ten’s eyes. However, he tried to do his best to cut it into chunks without hurting himself. 

Ten found Taeyong looking out the window wistfully when he came back into the room with a bowl of oddly cut melon and a cup of tea. "I tried my best with the melon. Be careful with the tea. It might be too hot." Taeyong tries to sit up, but a stabbing pain in his side makes him come back down. "Hold on a sec." Ten puts down the bowl and drink on the bedside table and grabs some extra pillows from the hall closet. He props Taeyong up and places the pillows behind so he is able to sit up without any effort. "There we go. Does that hurt?" Taeyong shakes his head and motions for the melon.

"My mom told me that you have to stay hydrated when you are sick so you better drink that tea within the next half hour or I'm gonna force it down your throat." Ten tries to be stern, but really can't keep up with the facade.

"Yes, sir." Taeyong jokes, picking up his cup of tea and taking a sip. He can feel the liquid burn his taste buds as he swallows and hisses. "You were right. Too hot." Taeyong puts the cup down and instead tries to focus on the melon. "So are you just going to stand here until I feel better?" Taeyong looks up at Ten, who was still standing over Taeyong's bed.

"No, I'll sit over here on Johnny's bed." Ten takes a light perch on the edge of Johnny's bed, not taking his gaze off Taeyong.

"Please do something. I would feel terrible if you lost all this time when you could be doing work." Taeyong manages to get a chunk down and washes it down with some water.

"Alright, alright. I'll start working on something soon. I just want to make sure you have a good setup first." On this note, they settle into a comfortable silence. Taeyong struggling to eat and Ten making sure he is ticking all the boxes of caretaker. Only a half hour later, Taeyong is fast asleep from the medication and Ten takes the opportunity to get some stuff from his dorm. Taeyong was right in that he did need to do work, but there was no reason he couldn't work from his laptop in Taeyong's room.

When Ten returns, Taeyong is still asleep and he breathes a sigh of relief. He cleans out Taeyong's mug and bowl and gets more melon ready for when Taeyong wakes up before settling down to work. It was late in the afternoon when Taeyong finally reopens his eyes.

"Oh you're up. How are you feeling? Has the medicine wore off?" Ten had set himself up with his laptop and headphones on Johnny's bed. The dorm had been deserted all day. Everyone was still busy in the studio and would most likely continue working late into the night.

"What time is it?" Taeyong strains to sit up and see the clock on his nightstand.

"Almost 5." Taeyong winces at that. 

"I've wasted a whole day."

Ten puts his computer down and checks Taeyong's forehead. He was still warm, but at least looking a little better. "You needed the rest. Now, I will be right back with some more tea and snacks. Would you like a notebook? Or maybe your laptop to watch a show?"

"I think I'm going to use the bathroom." Taeyong throws the covers off himself and slowly climbs out of bed. Ten was about to offer to help him, but decided against it and went into the kitchen to grab the melon from the fridge and heat up the tea. A few minutes later Taeyong shuffles into the room, shoulders slumped. In this state, he was practically Ten's height. 

"Can I help you with anything?" Taeyong did not like being so useless. He needed to do something more than just lay in bed.

"Well I don't really want you to help out in the kitchen. You'll spread your germs everywhere. Here, why don't you eat your snack at the table instead?" Taeyong nods and sits at the table. Ten places the dish in front of him along with the cup of tea. Taeyong was about to take a sip when Ten abruptly stopped him.

"Wait. I should take your temperature before you eat or drink anything." He ran into the bathroom and grabbed the thermometer. He remembered times when he was sick and his mother made him wait to eat or drink anything before taking his temperature. Ten really wasn't sure what this did, but he always followed his mother's advice on these matters. "Open your mouth." Taeyong obeyed and Ten stuck the thermometer in his mouth. A few moments later it beeped and Ten took it out.

"Oh good. You're down to 100 degrees. You still have a fever, but the medicine seemed to help. Now, you eat this and I'll get some more medicine ready for you." Taeyong sat in silence and ate. The melon didn't taste all that great to him, but he didn't want to be a problem. The tea helped a little, but a few minutes after he was finished with it, his throat just began to ache again. Taeyong placed the dishes in the sink and shuffled to the bathroom where Ten was cleaning off the thermometer.

"I think I'm going to take a shower." Ten looks to Taeyong.

"Oh okay. Are you gonna be okay in there by yourself? Let me know if you need me." Ten goes back to Taeyong's room and looks through his drawers for another set of pajamas to have ready for when Taeyong is done with his shower. Ten checks his phone to see a text from Johnny.

_ How is Taeyong doing? Do you need me to grab anything on the way home for practice? The rest are really worried about him.  _

Ten decides to call Johnny and talks to the group on speaker phone. They were all taking a break for dinner and seeing the food over the screen reminded him of how he had neglected to feed himself all day. He hangs up when Taeyong walks into their room, snuggling into his towel.

"I put those out for you." Ten points to the pajamas.

"Thank you. Did I hear you were on the phone?" Taeyong pulls the pajamas on and also grabs a sweatshirt from his closet. 

"Yeah. Johnny said everyone was wondering how you were doing so I called them while they were eating dinner." Ten puts his phone back to charge. "I think I'm going to get myself some dinner. Do you want anything more substantial than just melon?" Taeyong shakes his head.

"I'll sit with you while you eat though." They walk back to the kitchen and Taeyong watches anxiously as Ten messes around in his kitchen. Ten sits and eats, not much conversation to be had. Taeyong's medicine soon kicks in again and he is ready to go back to sleep. Ten continues to work a little longer, but he ends up falling asleep himself on Johnny's bed. 

It was around 11pm when the members arrive back at the dorm. Everyone is quiet. Some go straight to their room, others root around in the kitchen, Haechan darts to the bathroom first. Johnny had texted Ten that he was on his way home but got no response. He put his ear to the door in an attempt to possibly hear if anyone was in there. Silence. He opens the door carefully and is met with both Ten and Taeyong knocked out. Ten seemed to have fallen asleep while working, his laptop about to slip to the floor. Taeil stands in the doorframe.

“How long do you think they’ve been asleep?” he whispers to Johnny.

“No idea. Guess it’s couch time for me.” He cleans up Ten’s mess and grabs a few necessities before closing the door and leaving the two be. He puts his stuff down in the living room and goes to the bathroom only to find it occupied. While he waits, he prepares his bed.

“Why are you sleeping in here?” Jaehyun stands behind the couch.

Johnny sighs. “Ten is currently sleeping in mine and I didn’t want to wake Taeyong up in the process of making Ten move.”

“Why was Ten so freaked out about Taeyong anyway? I mean I know they did that duet together, but I didn’t really think they are close.” Johnny bites his lip. He hated being in this position. 

“I don’t know, man. They’ve just seemed to be a lot closer recently.” Johnny fluffs a spare pillow and drops it down onto the couch cushions. “Anyway, I’m beat.” Jaehyun walks wordlessly back to his room. Johnny finishes getting ready for bed and settles onto the couch. Taeyong and Ten really were dumb shits, he thought. In a loving way, of course.

Taeyong wakes early the next morning. He sees Ten sleeping in the bed next to him and wonders where Johnny slept. He was feeling quite a bit better compared to yesterday and was able to get out of bed much easier. His stomach growls at him as he stands up and realizes that all he has eaten in the past 24 hours has been melon. He goes to the kitchen to find a snack. Turning on the light, he begins to root around in the fridge.

“Who is that?” Taeyong hears someone murmur from behind him. Surprised, he turns around to see Johnny curled up on the couch.

“Oh sorry, I didn’t know you were sleeping in here. I’m sorry Ten took your bed.”

Johnny got up. “It’s alright. Are you feeling any better?”

Taeyong nods. “Yeah. I can’t believe I let myself get that sick.”

“It just happens sometimes. It’s not your fault. You should take today off too to make sure you are totally better.” Taeyong frowns at this, but understands that it’s probably for the best. “Also, warning, the group had a lot of questions about why Ten took you off yesterday.” Taeyong looked unsettled by this and wanted to ask more, but Johnny had escaped to the bathroom before he could formulate the words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How have you been feeling about the progression of the story? Do you guys like the more mundane, slower paced chapters or would you prefer to jump to the bigger events? I promise chapters on the vlives are coming soon!


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: It gets a little smutty toward the end!

Taeyong spent the next day by himself in the dorm. Ten wanted to continue taking care of him, but there were too many pressing deadlines.

"Go. I'll be fine. My fever is practically gone, I'm eating food, drinking tea. You're only going to be a few minutes away." Taeyong was trying to push Ten out the door. 

"But you need care. What if you pass out again and there is no one there to hear it?" 

"Then I'll die alone in silence, far less embarrassing." Taeyong countered.

"But-" 

"Bye." Taeyong finally pushed Ten out the door before he could get another word in. Taeyong sighed and walked back to his room, feeling less guilty now that no one was waiting on him. It was time for him to get as much work done as possible while undisturbed.

A few days later, Taeyong is completely better and gets back into the studio.

"Taeyong you're back!" Chenle runs over and clobbers him. 

"Yeah. I'm doing alright." Taeyong pulls Chenle off him and puts his bag down. He had a thousand things added to his schedule and cursed his weak body. The rest of the group comes over and asks him how he was doing and what it felt like to pass out. They were all far too energetic for him. "Come on, guys. We have a lot of work to do. We can goof around after the comeback."

The rehearsal went rather smoothly. Taeyong was impressed that everyone was pretty much on top of their choreography and he didn't have to corral them too much. It was reaching the end of the week and Taeyong hadn't gone out for anything in weeks because of his illness. He was lying in bed with Johnny across from him.

"Why don't we go out next weekend?" Johnny suggests.

"I really shouldn't, we have so much to do." Taeyong sighs.

"It's good to take a break sometime and you haven't gone out since we got back from Ukraine." Johnny countered. "It'll just be one night and by the weekend we'll already have done a lot of the work for the comeback. Most of our songs are pretty much done and choreography is coming along great. It's the perfect time. We'll bring the whole older crowd and go get some drinks and dance it out. They need the break just as much. And afterward I'll let you have the room to yourself" Johnny wiggles his eyebrows. "You and Ten can get it on. I bet you haven't done anything in ages." Johnny was the master at the wear down tactic.

"Okay, I guess. Next weekend?" Taeyong looks to Johnny, who bounces on the bed in excitement.

"Yes. This is gonna be fun. I'm going to ask the rest of the group." He leaves the room and sees who is available. Taeyong picks up his phone and texts Ten.

We're going out next weekend. Johnny made me cave.

It'll be fun!

 

The next day Taeyong gets up and decides to stop by his favorite bakery to pick up a treat to surprise the rest of the group. He had fully recovered from his sickness and wanted to do something for everyone’s hard work. He picks up some sweet pastries and cakes and brings them back to the studio for their morning rehearsal. Taeyong was the first one in the studio, so he decided to set up the treats nicely for when the rest trickled in.

“AW. Thank you hyung!” Haechan thanks Taeyong obnoxiously as per usual. The rest start coming in and brighten at the sign of the sweets. 

“I just thought you guys needed a little something after all the work you’ve done.” Taeyong hands out the treats, making sure everyone received one. “Enjoy your treats and then get warmed up!” He goes to his bag and pulls out his phone to look at his schedule. He needed to do some recording in the afternoon and then him and Ten had discussed doing a vlive.

Rehearsal went well and he ate a quick lunch before heading to the recording studio. Taeyong was particularly excited about this recording session because it was a song that he had finally finished writing after four years. It was his baby.

The entire session was emotionally draining on him. He had been playing with these lyrics for so long you would think they had lost their effect on him, but they hadn’t. He was scared, but excited to show this to people. But he had done his part and knew he had done it well at the very least.

That evening, he meets up with Ten in their usual dance studio. Ten hadn’t noticed him enter the room so he does his best to sneak up behind the other and grab him around his middle.

“You ready to do the vlive?” he asks. Ten turns around in Taeyong’s arms and gives Taeyong a peck on the cheek.

“Yes! Oh, I’m so excited. The release is so close! It’s going to be so difficult to stop myself from telling them anything.” Ten spots a bag on the floor next to Taeyong’s feet. “Did you bring something?”

“Yes. I brought stuff to the 127 group and I saved some for us. I got cake and macaroons.” Taeyong opens the bag and shows Ten.

“Yum. Why don’t we set the camera up and start.” Ten takes the bag and brings it to a table in the corner of the room. Taeyong followed. He was a little worried about doing a vlive with just Ten for the first time after they started their relationship. He was worried they would give it away somehow or he would do something stupid.

The vlive began smoothly. Taeyong was expecting the entire thing to be awkward and boring, but it was just talking to Ten. The two of them had been so busy and they hadn’t really had the opportunity to just talk about whatever they wanted. It would always be about some sort of problem going on and that was exhausting. This was just...fun. The two stole the occasional glance or flirt, but nothing that really got Taeyong worked up and he appreciated that.

When the vlive finally ended, they began to pack up. “That was fun.” Taeyong said.

“Yeah, it was.” Ten walked to Taeyong and stood chest to chest with him. "But I could think of something more fun." Ten replies in his usual flirtatious tone, and yet Taeyong was still susceptible to it. He gives Ten a little shove.

"Stop that." Taeyong tries to put space between them.

"Make me." Ten doesn't budge, in fact, he seems to move even closer to Taeyong.

"Ten-ah!" Taeyong squeals and attempts to solve this situation by walking away from Ten. Ten just follows Taeyong, who turns his walk into a run.

"I'm gonna get you!" Ten shouts, the two of them now darting around the studio. Taeyong makes a wrong turn and ends up colliding into Ten and they both fall on the floor.

"Ow." Taeyong whimpered. 

"Your fault for trying to resist my charms." Ten countered. "You should learn that is impossible.”

 

*

It was finally Saturday afternoon and the dorm was buzzing with activity as everyone got ready for the evening. Johnny and Taeyong were in their room deciding what to wear. "I think you should go with the purple shirt. You'll look fucking hot." Johnny suggested as he surveyed their wardrobes. "And it won't clash with the green shirt I plan on wearing." he holds up the shirt that he was referring to. "Why are we going out? Why can't we just stay inside and watch movies?" Taeyong whines. "You do that every weekend. Come on you'll have fun and it's a good cover for you to hang out with Ten." Johnny pulls out the purple shirt and hands it to Taeyong. "You should really be thanking me, you know." "I will not thank you, but I will go." Taeyong grabs the shirt and begins changing into his outfit for the night out.

The rest of the members start congregating in the living room as they finish getting ready. Ten, Lucas, and Jungwoo arrive soon after and everyone makes their way downstairs. "So. Where are we heading to for the evening?" Lucas asks, bringing his hands together with a little hop. "I was thinking we could go to a nightclub. Get a little dancing in?" Johnny recommends. There were excited smiles mixed with slight grumbles. Ten likes the idea and links his arms with both Taeyong and Johnny as they walk out of the building. The rowdy group makes their way to strip of clubs down a popular street. As they enter one, their vision goes dark and their ears dull to adjust to the flashing lights and pounding bass. 

Taeyong is dragged to the bar by Ten and Johnny. Half of the members follow quickly behind and the other half hunt down a section of tables for everyone. Johnny gets the attention of the bartender and orders the three of them beers. "Here. Drink up. You'll feel better a little buzzed." Taeyong takes the drink and sips gingerly. Ten, on the other hand, downs three big gulps. Taeyong's eyes widen a little as he takes in his small partner chugging down the drink. 

"Ah. Now I feel better." Ten says once he's finished over half of his beer in less than a minute. Johnny had taken a good few sips, but nothing as ridiculous as Ten. "Come on. Finish your beer so we can dance!" Ten encourages Taeyong. 

"Just give me a minute. If I drank as quickly as you did I wouldn't make it very long through the night." Ten pouts and takes a seat at the bar. 

"Okay, I guess I can wait." Johnny takes a peak around to make sure the other members have dispersed throughout the club and won’t hear their conversation. 

"So, Ten. What is it like dating TY?" Johnny asks. 

"I'm right here!" Taeyong interjects. 

"It's been very pleasant." Ten replies with a cute look towards Taeyong. "However, it would be more pleasant if he would let me kiss him often." 

"What are you talking about? I let you kiss me all the time." Johnny watches this interaction with a chuckle. He lived for this kind of banter. 

"If you want more, then maybe you should stop psyching me out that there is someone behind us." Johnny and Ten were both finished with their drinks and were waiting for Taeyong to finish up. "Why don't you guys go dance while I finish this up?" Taeyong suggests. He wanted the two of them to stop monitoring his every sip.

"Alright, but we'll be coming back after one dance to make you come along." Taeyong shoos them away and watches them as they head to the dance floor. He makes his way to the table with the other members, who had also ordered a round of beers. Taeyong listens as the members vent about all the stress of the past couple weeks as he watches Ten and Johnny on the dance floor. The two are dancing dorkily, their attention every now and then going back to Taeyong. The song ends and they come back as they had promised. 

"You've stalled long enough. Come on!" Ten grabs Taeyong's hand and pulls him in the direction of the dance floor. 

"I think I’ll just sit here with the rest of the group and order another drink." Johnny says, sitting down. 

"Are you sure?" Taeyong asks. 

"Yeah. I hang out with you two enough as is." Johnny smiles at them and waves.

When Ten and Taeyong reach the floor, Ten lets go of Taeyong's hand and places it on Taeyong's waist. Taeyong gazes down at Ten, admiring his eyes which are smudged with a glittery eyeliner. He begins to step side to side, starting to feel the groove of the music shaking the building. Ten smiles up at him and brings Taeyong closer and plants a short messy kiss on his cheek. 

"Thank you for coming out with us." Taeyong is about to start freaking out and Ten notices this. “Don’t worry, they can’t see us.”Taeyong nods, blushing a little and then grabs ahold of Ten's wrist that was wrapped around his waist and spins Ten around. This catches Ten off guard and he trips a little, falling back into Taeyong's arms, laughing. 

"Wow, so graceful." Taeyong jokes, propping Ten back up. 

"Wait, no. I like being in your arms." Ten snuggles back into Taeyong, wrapping his arms tightly around Taeyong. Taeyong can't stop smiling as they continue to dance glued to one another. The song ends and they decide to head back up to the table. Lucas dragged Jungwoo to the dance floor when the next song came on. 

"Aw you guys were so cute together!" Johnny whispers to Taeyong when they come back. "Here I ordered us a couple shots to really get this evening moving." 

"Yes. I am ready!" Ten happily hops into the seat next to Johnny and takes his shot of tequila. Taeyong sits down as well and takes the remaining shot and downs it with everyone else. There was no point in fighting the other two at this point. He was just fighting the inevitable. He was going to get drunk tonight. "I guess no more wasting time then." Johnny waits for the rest to finish their shots and quickly downs his own. 

“Wooh.” Mark exclaims. “Now I can dance. Jaehyun, come on.” Mark pulls Jaehyun out of his seat and follows. Soon, Doyoung and Taeyong are the only ones left at the table.

“I can’t believe we are here.” Doyoung remarks.

“Who wore you down?” Taeyong asks.

“Johnny, of course.” Doyoung replies and takes a sip of a cocktail he had asked the bartender to make. 

Many shots and dancing later, Taeyong steps up on the table, too drunk to have any inhibitions. “I want to make a toast. To my love, Ten-ah. Thank you for existing.” Taeyong takes his final shot of the night and steps down from the table, the members are too drunk to be overly suspicious of this proclamation and drink along.

When everyone is out on the dance floor,  Taeyong and Ten decide to cut out of the club early. They unlock the door to the 127 dorm and rush to Taeyong's room and lock the door behind them. Taeyong pushes Ten onto the door with a thud and kisses him ruffly, his hands fisting his shirt.

"What happened to you Tae? You were so shy at the club and now suddenly you're all over me?" Ten breaths as Taeyong mouths at his neck.

"Stop teasing me and let me makeout with you in peace." Taeyong whines.

"As you wish." Ten takes Taeyong's face in his hand forces his mouth open, slipping his tongue in. Taeyong moans and loosens his grip on Ten's shirt. Ten directs Taeyong farther into the room while still sucking face and they flop onto the bed. Taeyong lays flat on the bed while Ten straddles his hips.

"You're so pretty." Taeyong looks up at Ten adoringly and smiles. Ten smiles back.

"I know right." Taeyong makes a face at this, but quickly becomes distracted when Ten begins to unbutton his own shirt. "Watch this and you'll have no doubts." Taeyong sits up and watches quietly as Ten gets off Taeyong and puts on a song. He sways his hips from side to side as he continues to unbutton his shirt. Taeyong blushes at the way Ten glances down at Taeyong with his head raised and tilted to the side. Ten untucks his now completely unbuttoned shirt and slowly takes it off. His body flowing with the beat as he does this. Taeyong's breath hitches when Ten unexpectedly thrusts his hips forward, shirt just barely dangling off one of his arms.

Finally, the shirt is off and suddenly he is standing over Taeyong, Taeyong has no where to look but Ten's crotch. Ten's hands move to his belt and he unbuckles it and slips it off in one continuous motion. The belt lands with a dull thud on the carpeted floor. 

Ten comes down onto his knees and runs his hands through Taeyong's hair and pulls Taeyong’s head towards his bare chest. Ten's chest is glistening with a slight sweat, Taeyong's lips come back with a touch of saltiness lingering. Ten places his hands on the other's shoulders and lightly grinds down onto Taeyong. Enough to make blood rush to Taeyong's crotch, but not enough to create any friction. Ten removes himself from Taeyong and turns around, giving Taeyong a different view. Ten knows how to move his body in a way that leaves Taeyong desperate for more. He wishes that he could reach out and cup the dancer's cute ass cheek, but is worried that Ten would stop if he did so. When Ten turns around, his pants are unbuttoned. Taeyong's attention is drawn to his crotch, and the outline of Ten's dick in his pants. His eyes grow wide as Ten unzips his pants and shimmies them off to reveal he had not been wearing any underwear.

"Oh my god Ten." Taeyong whispers under his breath.

"What was that? Ten asks. "Is something the matter?"

"I just wasn't expecting you to have no underwear on." Taeyong gulps.

"Do you like it?" Ten gives his classic devilish smile. He stands confidently, completely naked in front of Taeyong, loving to watch Taeyong try to avoid ogling him.

"Yes." Taeyong feels embarrassed to say this for some reason. He was 24 years old. There should be no reason to be shy about something like that. Ten comes towards Taeyong and lifts his head up with his slim fingers.

"It's not wrong to like it. You have no reason to be ashamed. I like that you like it. You're safe with me, okay?" Taeyong nods and appreciates Ten's confirmation, but also has some difficulty paying attention with Ten's dick hardening more and more by the minute.

“I know, but Ten, having this conversation with you completely naked is a little distracting.” Taeyong glances down at Ten’s crotch. Ten follows his gaze.

“Ah right. As long as you’re alright we can continue doing what we were going to do.” 

“Yes, we can.” Taeyong responds. Ten straddles Taeyong and grabs ahold of his collar and pushes him down onto the bed.

“Well, then, why don’t you relax?” Ten whispers into Taeyong’s ear, making his hair stand up on end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I published the first chapter of a JohnJae fic called "What If We Got Married?" and am going to publish the second chapter soon. Check it out! I'm really excited to have a new story to work on in addition to this one.


	19. Chapter 19

The day had finally come for their duet to go live and the both of them were nervous. Luckily “Boss” was received well, but performing as a whole unit was really different than just the two and Ten hadn’t had a comeback in forever.

They had spent the last few days practicing into the late hours of the night to make sure the choreography was perfect. No one needed to bring up the one shared trip to the bathroom that consisted of a short lived makeout session because they hadn’t been able to get a spare moment to themselves since that night out clubbing with the other members. 

Taeyong entered his shared room with Johnny and crashed onto the bed after tripping on a chord with a loud bang and grunt. “Sorry.” Taeyong says after he hears Johnny turn over in bed at the noise.

“It’s alright. I was having trouble falling asleep anyway.” Johnny sits up and turns on the light to make things easier for Taeyong, who was now crawling around the room with his hands in front of him so as to not encounter the chord again.

“Oh, thank god.” Taeyong stands up and starts moving around the room normally. 

“You nervous?” Johnny asks as he fiddles with his phone.

“Very.” Taeyong replies, slapping moisturizer on his face before plugging in his phone next to his bed and pulling the blankets down to get in.

“How about Ten?”

“I think he’s nervous too, but also he is better at hiding his nervousness I think.” Taeyong envied that quality. It frustrated him that every thought that went through his head displayed on his face in such an obvious way. But then he thought back to how Ten would call him cute at every blush that colored his face and he had to admit that he loved when that happened.

“Well even if he hides it, I’m sure he’ll appreciate your support to no end. I know that he really values your opinion.” Johnny remarks. He could be one of those kinds of people a lot of the time. Put on an easy going face to make the situation easier and to have the attention taken off his struggles.

“I always want to support him.” Taeyong says quietly, words muffled by the blanket covering his mouth.

“Of course, we all do. You guys are going to do great tomorrow.” Johnny turns off the light and the two of them attempt to fall asleep, but both end up scrolling through endless articles on their phone wishing the nervousness would die down at some point.

The next morning Ten is incredibly surprised to find a wild pile of the Dreamies atop him, shaking him awake.

“Hyung! You have your comeback today!” Renjun says cheerily. Ten wishes he was not being attacked by so many bodies at once so early in the morning. Bodies that were much more agile than him and were unphased by the fact that Ten currently wanted to strangle each and everyone of them.

“Let me sleep!” Ten groans into his pillow, only to have it tugged from his arms.

“You can’t! The manager told us you needed to leave in a half hour.” Jeno explained.

Ten then picks up his phone to see a message from Taeyong from fifteen minutes ago telling him to wake up. Clearly he had been unsuccessful.

“Fine. Just get off me so I can get to the bathroom.” Ten pushes them off, not caring that Jisung loses his balance and tumbles to the floor.

Ten climbs into the parked van to find Taeyong already sitting inside with a small breakfast perched in his lap.

“Where have you been?” Taeyoung asks with a panicked voice.

“I was bombarded by the children.” Ten explains, not including the part that they were in fact doing him a favor.

“Here. Eat this.” Taeyong hands him his own breakfast and Ten happily takes it.

The manager climbs into the driver’s seat and double checks that they are ready to go before heading off to the broadcasting station. There is a large crowd there despite the early hour. The two of them politely wave to the cameras and fans before heading into the station for hair and makeup.

It felt very strange for it to be just the two of them. It had been just the two of them this entire time, but those were activities where it wasn’t that odd for a smaller group to be working. Here, in the dressing room, with a stylist and makeup and hair getting them all ready to go felt really different. Even more so because of the sexy concept. The two of them found themselves shirtless underneath blazers. Something that they had never worn on TV before. 

Taeyong looked to Ten in his outfit and flashed back to the filming of the music video when he first saw him in that outfit and could barely breath. How far had he come to accept the crush and even act on it. A few years ago he would never have done such a thing. He had to thank Ten for being so confident in himself to give him the courage to do the same.

He wants to kiss Ten, let him know what he is thinking at this moment. But there are other people in the room and he can’t. It will have to wait until they are back at the dorm and can find a spare moment alone when the moment has already passed. There are benefits to dating your group member, but wanting to kiss them when you can’t is just torture.

The two are told to relocate closer to the stage as their spot edges closer. In the elevator, Taeyong feels Ten’s hand briefly grab his own and Ten’s nervousness is apparent in his sweaty palms.

“You’re going to do great, Ten-ah.” Taeyong reassures, knowing exactly what the other needed to hear in that moment.

“So will you, Tae.” Ten flashes that dazzling smile up at Taeyong and no matter how many times he does so, Taeyong will turn into a tomato.

They wait off to the side of the stage as the group before performs. The song ends and there are cheers. The MC’s face the camera and recite their lines as the two are shooed onstage. Ten’s heartbeat is erratic as the bass line comes in loud and heavy. He knew this. He knew how to dance. He knew how to sing. He knew how to perform. And he got to do all of this with a person he loved and cared about all of this as much as him. So that was pretty great.

Everything was a blur. Some things felt really good and some things felt off, only to improve with his next performance. He wasn’t sure if it made it easier or harder to perform with Taeyong. It felt right, but Taeyong was so incredible it was almost distracting. When the song finally ends there are cheers, but all he can focus on is Taeyong’s glittering eyes and dazzling smile. They did it!

 

*

Once the broadcast was done and they changed out of their costumes, they climbed in the car and headed back to the dorm. There was only a short amount of time before they had other schedules to attend in preparation for the many other projects going on. 

The two figured no one would be at the dorms at this time of day and are excited to spend some one on one cuddling time. As the elevator climbs floors, Taeyong finds Ten sneaking squeezes of his ass, yelping in protest. The doors chime and Taeyong grabs ahold of Ten’s hand, pulling him towards the door. He enters the combination into the keypad and opens the door. 

What the two did not anticipate is the entirety of NCT 2018 entourage waiting in the living room with a cake and party materials for their arrival. And neither were the members expecting the duet to enter the dorm locked in a kiss accompanied by giggles and stumbles as they try to make their way to Taeyong’s room.

“For god’s sake.” Johnny exclaims with exasperation, putting down the party hats he was holding and walking into his room before coming right out with the intention of lecturing the two of them.

Ten and Taeyong freeze, Ten’s hands still cupped around Taeyong’s cheeks and Taeyong’s hands in the process of unzipping Ten’s sweatshirt.

“Wait. What’s going on?” Mark asks, looking to the other members for explanation. Clearly oblivious to everything that had been going on for the last few months. Among these expressions there are ones of equal confusion to Mark’s, some of understanding, and some of disappointment (mainly Johnny).

“Ten, Taeyong. Would you care to explain? I really don’t feel like it after covering your asses all this time.” Johnny gestures to the two of them who have removed their hands from each other’s persons and are standing side by side in front of the paused celebration. Taeyong has his eyes glued to the floor while Ten stands a little more confidently.

“You couldn’t figure it out by what you just saw?” Ten asks.

“Uh. Well. Ten and I are sort of dating.” Taeyong speaks up, scratching his head and looking off to the side. Doing everything possible to avoid eye contact with the others in the room.

No one really knows how to respond until Lucas lets out an inhuman screech, rushing over to crush the two into a hug. At this action, the rest of the members make their way to the hug and join in. Mark, fortunately, has grasped the situation and giggles as he is pulled into the hug with the others.

As they break away, everyone begins to ask lots of questions, but Johnny breaks it up. “Come on, guys. I’m sure we all want to know what goes on in the bedroom but we should let these two have a rest. We’ll bug them at dinner.” Johnny smirks, knowing his power over the situation as primary confidant. 

The future was sure going to be different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so so much for reading this fic! I’m sorry to end it so abruptly, but I felt like this was a good place to end it considering the starting premise. I am seriously considering continuing this story by writing some one-shots of specific moments that happen after this point so maybe watch out for that. It was getting really hard to write this fic to my satisfaction as the actual events were getting farther and farther away from me and there was a level of authenticity and accuracy missing because of that. It is a bittersweet moment to complete my first ever fanfic, but I am really happy with the reception it has received and the love I have felt from all of you. This is no end to my writing nor my conversations with you. Feel free to get in touch with me on tumblr @jhopesairplaneshoes where I am trying out writing requests! Or just wanting to chat is much appreciated as well! <3


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